Taylor
by Taylor Hatake
Summary: 畑・テイラー — to be brave; to endure; to be strong. Daughter of Kakashi Hatake, you have a hard time ahead of you. Be prepared.
1. Welcome Home, Taylor

**A/N:** Don't expect many author's notes throughout the story, but perhaps one at the end of the story. I kinda think they're a bit distracting to the story at hand = ) Oh, don't mind me I'm a crazy person. Oh yeah and sorry for the reupload of this, I like this beginning so I kept it and added more detail into it. And...I don't think this is going to follow much of the canon stuff, its more of a, "I'm doing this because I can and I don't care if it matches up with the canon or not" thing. So, I apologize in advance for that one. And I have a comment for Hiruzen...I feel so bad for him because of course, when she's six or seven, he gets killed and he doesn't get to see her grow up into a legend : ( I feel for him.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, but I do in fact own the original characters damn it!

**Genre:** General

**Dedication:** To Caliko, for letting me write with her OCs and being a good friend. Thank you.

**Thank you** Caliko for your pointers. And Charlene because you understand how I feel about this...how I feel about trying to write for Taylor ;A;

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**Taylor**

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**テイラー**

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**_Chapter 1_**  
Welcome home, Taylor

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Late in the evening on January 31, 20-year-old Kakashi Hatake rushed into the hospital room, only to catch sight of his father, Sakumo Hatake, standing with his back turned to the door. There was a look of hope in the elder's eyes that came to be from the baby he was holding in his arms. Gently, he swayed a little as he tried to settle the infant and he shushed it softly. His warm grey eyes were focused on the little baby he caressed in his arms, who eventually began to settle and close her eyes tiredly. Kakashi wasn't sure what was going on, but something tugged at him saying that the baby his father was holding, was his own child. He couldn't be certain, but that's what the tug said. The new father swallowed hard, not knowing what to say or do. Eventually, he built up the courage to catch his father's attention.

"Father?"

Sakumo turned around, holding the little baby who had its grey hair already! With reluctance, he smiled gently at his son, trying to make it convincing. He was about to deliver some bad news in a few moments after he told his son that he had a daughter. And this news had to be one of the hardest the father would ever have to deliver to his own son. Sakumo swallowed hard.

"A girl," he whispered.

Kakashi opened his mouth and looked over his daughter in awe.

At not quite twenty inches and barely over seven pounds, it was rather obvious that this was _his _child. With the silver hair it was nearly impossible to say that this was not his daughter. As Sakumo said earlier, she was a girl and he couldn't help but think, she's so unusually small and vulnerable! Her fingers and toes were about as big as the holes punched on the margin a sheet of loose-leaf paper and her small head was bigger than her body, but that was to be expected since she's a baby. And her tiny eyes were closed in thin, black lines as she rested them for a few moments.

"She's..." Kakashi searched his head for a word to describe the little girl. "Gorgeous, no. Hm..."

"Indescribable?" Sakumo chuckled.

"Indescribable," his son agreed.

"Well, I could say she's a masterpiece, kinda like what my father thought of me when I was born," Sakumo grinned. "But that would be stealing his thunder."

"She's both indescribable and a masterpiece," Kakashi grinned back. "She's both, just about."

"We're still stealing his thunder, Kakashi," Sakumo chuckled softly and handed his son his daughter so he could hold her. Kakashi looked down at the baby that was his own and he caressed her gently. From an angle, she looked like a boy but in other angles, she looked just like a girl. She was just absolutely perfect! After a few moments, Sakumo frowned and thought through his words and then chose the right ones carefully.

"I have...bad news son," he mentioned softly and shakily. The eldest Hatake swallowed hard. "Setsuna...she didn't have an easy labor. There were some complications, and she didn't... she didn't make it, son."

Kakashi suddenly stopped the slow caressing of his daughters soft head, "Setsuna...?.

"Setsuna died?" he finished questioningly, unconsciously tightening his hold on his newborn daughter but the child took no notice. Rather, the little baby thought it was comforting. Weird, but maybe she would be a weird yet loveable person.

Sakumo nodded, "Shortly after she was born, there was some (...more like a lot of) bleeding and Setsuna...she just, lost consciousness and died long before she could even hold her daughter. Kakashi, I'm so sorry."

Kakashi shook his head.

"No, she can't be dead...," he said, shaking his head quickly. "No no, I don't believe it. She's got to still be alive."

He looked past his father and the bed where his wife should have been and found the bed was empty; the father was too late in seeing his fiance. The plan was to get married the next month, but that worked out oh-so-well. It was too late. Sakumo pushed him back.

"Kakashi, she's dead and I'm sorry, so sorry. I can't say it enough, I know...But what matters is your daughter, who from what the nurse said, she looks very healthy," Sakumo consoled.

He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Kakashi responded softly, then looked at his daughter.

Moments later, the little girl opened her eyes, revealing her gorgeous baby blue eyes. Silently, she looked around in curiosity and then looked at her father. Instinctively, she knew that was her father. She reached a tiny little hand up to her father's dangling dog tag and grabbed it. Kakashi and Sakumo both smiled in awe.

"Aww how cute," Kakashi commented lightly. Then, he wondered, "What should I name her?"

Sakumo thought for a moment.

"Name her, Taylor," he said. "It's a really pretty name for a very pretty little girl."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Hi there little Taylor," he cooed to his daughter, holding his finger up to poke her itty-bitty nose. She let go of his dog tag and reached up to grab his finger like she knew what he was about to do. Then, she released his finger and pulled her softly clenched fists up to her chest and held them there.

Taylor closed her eyes contently and tried to go back to sleep and Sakumo chuckled softly.

"Awww, must be tired," he said. "Must be tiresome to be that adorable."

Kakashi chuckled and then he nodded.

"Welcome to the family, Taylor," he whispered, pulling her up to kiss her forehead gently and his father smiled a bit.

"Welcome to the family, Taylor," he repeated.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps approach them and they both looked up and saw the Hokage walking in.

"Hiruzen-Sama," Kakashi said.

Hiruzen smiled.

"I heard about a new addition to the Hatake family. I just came to see him or her," he said.

Kakashi nodded and the Hokage walked in. Smiling, Kakashi showed the elder Hokage his daughter and he smiled.

"It's a girl," Taylor's father said.

"She's gorgeous," Hiruzen commented, reaching his arms out to the girl. "May I...?"

Kakashi nodded and handed little Taylor to Hiruzen. Gently, he caressed the tiny baby in his arms and watched in awe as Taylor opened her eyes again. The elder Hokage smiled. "What did you name her?"

"Taylor. Taylor Hatake."

"Y'know, I have a feeling Taylor'll be a great legend like her father and grandfather," he said. "I just have that feeling."

Sakumo grinned.

"I know she will. I do hope to be her sensei when she is ready to be a shinobi," he stated. "I'll teach her everything I know."

"Me too," Kakashi said.

"And I hope I live to see the day she becomes a great legend," Hiruzen grinned, nodding to Kakashi and Sakumo. "Just like her father and grandfather before her."

They all chuckled and the nurse had to take Taylor away to do some tests to make sure she's healthy. The three of them stayed in the room for a bit and Kakashi glanced out the window, watching as the snow fell. The snow fell slowly and gently and the light from the room illuminated the snow on the ground, making it bright against the dark, gloomy, sky.

"January 31," he said as Sakumo and Hiruzen left. "January 31, welcome home Taylor Hatake." He looked up at the cloudy sky. "And thank you, Setsuna...for giving life to our child, and I promise I will do my best to protect her and raise her like you would. I will not break my promise to you."

Softly, Kakashi said again, "Welcome home, Taylor." He looked away and walked out of the room and caught up to his father. He could not wait to take his little girl home and start his new life doubled as a father and a shinobi.

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	2. Anxious

Taylor  
テイラー

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**_Chapter Two_**  
Anxious

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Seventeen years later, Sakumo found himself calling his son and his granddaughter inside for supper. It was a dark, October evening. The sky was covered in dreary, dark, luminous, grey clouds and the air felt muggy and hot and in the distance, a storm was a-brewing. Despite that, Kakashi and Taylor trained in the fields with their re-sharpened katanas. The both of them were running/jumping backwards on the fence that kept the wheat in and they clashed their katanas together.

"You're not gonna beat me this time you little brat!" Kakashi laughed.

"You say that now, Dad!" Taylor grinned and swung her white katana at Kakashi, who held his grey katana above his face in defense. Her katana made a 'klink' sound as it hit her father's katana. Taylor pressed her free hand onto the flat part of the katana and leaned into him. Unconsciously, Kakashi leaned backwards and Taylor kept pushing him down. Soon, Kakashi's body was near the fence and fortunately, he's pretty flexible. You have to be relatively flexible to be a shinobi. The father tried to stand back up, but his own daughter's strength prevented him from standing back up. One more push, and Kakashi was going to lose his focused chakra in his feet and hit the fence and fall to the ground and Taylor knew this, and she certainly was going to take advantage of it.

"Any last words my dearest father?" she grinned.

Kakashi scoffed, knowing she's just playing with him.

"I love you," he grinned behind his mask. "...Don't hurt your old man?"

"Oh, okay," she pushed him down, making him lose focus in his feet and the chakra went back to flowing around his body. His feet slipped out from underneath him and made him land on his back on the fence, then gravity took over and pushed him off the old, wooden fence. He landed face-first, but he was okay because he then rolled over onto his back not sure if he should laugh or be ashamed that his own child defeated him, and he chose to laugh about it.

"Man, I think you're stronger than me..." he groaned, rubbing the dirt off of his face. "Or maybe as I get older I'm growing weaker..."

Taylor hopped off the fence and slipped the white katana, belonging to her great-granduncle, into its sheath and she held out her hand.

"Maybe it's the latter," she joked. "Need any help getting up, _old man_?"

Kakashi didn't know how to react to his daughter calling him old, but instead of getting upset with her like some people would, he just smiled sweetly and grabbed her hand.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he thanked her as she pulled him up onto his feet and he dusted himself off.

"You're welcome, Daddy," she smiled back at him.

"You, my dearest daughter, are a worthy opponent. I hope you know this," Kakashi bowed to her.

"Oh I do," Taylor grinned, hugging him.

"Uhh, Taylor...I'm all sweaty and gross," Kakashi told her.

"So am I," Taylor stuck her tongue out at him.

"Good point..." he hugged her back and then lifted her up. "Ohhh I'm so proud of you, Taylor! Defeating me like that...You get even more clever and sly the more we fight."

Taylor giggled, "Well, you're my father so you shouldn't be surprised."

"I know," Kakashi set her down on her feet and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy," Taylor smiled back.

"Taylor! Kakashi!" Sakumo called out.

"Hai!" both Taylor and Kakashi answered.

"Supper!"

Looking at each other, Kakashi and Taylor dashed out of the fields and back to the house to eat supper, made by Sakumo. The elder was setting the table with chopsticks where they sat and sushi in the middle of the table; up for grabs of course. He glanced up as both his children (Taylor could also be considered his child) came running inside and he smiled.

"How about sushi with your soup?" he grinned. "Just because?"

"That's acceptable," Kakashi shrugged.

"Mm...sushi..." Taylor grinned, getting a bowl of _kamo nanban-soba_ soup with sliced duck breast, scallions and _mitsuba_ — to eat of course. "Oh! How delicious it smells! Mmm!"

Sakumo grinned, "Wait till you eat it. My first attempt at _kamo nanban_ and I think I did pretty well."

Taylor took her bowl to the table and sat criss-cross on her zabuton to eat, but she waited respectfully for Kakashi and Sakumo to get their soup and sit down. Once they all sat, all three of them at once said "_Itadakimasu_" and began eating.

"How'd your little spar with your father go?" Sakumo asked Taylor, looking at her.

"I kicked his ass," she grinned.

"Did not," Kakashi was not about to admit it in front of his father.

"I made you lose focus of your chakra and hit the top of the fence," Taylor taunted. "Dad, admit it to Grandpa for once. I kicked your ass."

Still, Kakashi was unwilling to admit his defeat to his own father. He thought it showed weakness. Instead of saying anything, he slurped up his noodles and looked at Sakumo.

"This is really good, Dad," he said to change the subject.

"It is," Taylor agreed. "Could use a little more spice, but other than that it is fantastic."

Sakumo looked at his bowl.

"You are right," he realized. "I didn't put in as much as I thought I did. Oops..."

"It's okay," she gave her grandfather a thumbs up. "You still did awesome."

The grandfather smiled a bit, "Thank you."

Taylor nodded and then reached for the only california roll left at the same time Kakashi did. They looked at each other, their chopsticks standing over the small sushi. Taylor tried to slide the roll towards her.

"Not so fast," Kakashi tried to snag it back. "You already ate the other two and Dad ate one, let me have the last piece."

"But Daddy..."

"Let me have it, Taylor."

"Yes, Dad..." she let go of the roll and Kakashi took it.

"Thank you," he grinned and ate it.

Taylor looked down and finished eating.

"I'm...going to bed," she said, putting her dishes in the sink. "I'm worn out."

"Okay," Sakumo and Kakashi acknowledged.

Taylor gave them both kisses.

"Night," she told them.

"Night, Kakashi replied.

"Night night, sweetheart," Sakumo replied.

Taylor bowed and headed to the bathroom to wash her face off. Silently, she dampened a blue wash cloth and rubbed off the sweat and dirt from her face. She'd already taken a shower today and she was too tired to do another one. After she wipe the sweat and dirt off, she headed into her room. Her room was relatively big and its walls were painted a light blue. On the right wall was a black desk decorated with markers, pens, colored pencils, mechanical pencils, sketchbooks and notebooks. Beside it was a black bookcase filled with various mangas from "Ah! My Goddess!" to "Natsume's Book of Friends". On top of it was a picture of her father and grandfather and her, as a baby. On the back wall was just her bed; a traditional futon raised up on an actual bed frame. Beside it, on the left wall, was a nightstand with an alarm clock, a glass of water and another picture frame, this time it was holding a picture of her great-grandfather and her great-granduncle before their top-secret mission. Beside the picture was a notebook for the current story Taylor was working on.

Taylor slipped out of her uniform and into her cleaner clothes she used for the night after she's sweated in her uniform all day. The shirt was not much different from her normal shirt and neither were her pants, but who cares? She wore them if she sweated all day in her normal clothes. She slipped her hair tie out of her silver hair and she sat it down on her notebook and allowed her long hair to flow past the middle of her back. A loud yawn slipped out through her mouth and she crawled into bed, then laying down on her side to face her picture frame. She stared at the picture and sighed, "I miss you guys." She did. She did miss her great-grandfather and her great-granduncle. They were really nice to her and in a way, they were friends to her also. She would never forget the kindness the elder showed to her.

"I miss you guys," she murmured again, this time sadly. "But, at least I have you guys in my heart so I guess I can't complain. Right?"

No, she couldn't and she accepted she'll never see her friends again until her time on Earth was up. Sighing, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

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She woke up early that morning for training. She slipped pale-sage, old Konoha-style vest. Nearly five years ago, she found the vest in the attic along with the two katanas, both of which she uses depending on her mood, though she uses the black one the most. Luckily, the pale-sage vests she found fit her almost perfectly, since it belonged to her great-granduncle, who was nearly as short as she was.

Silently, she zipped up her vest and she glanced down at her indigo forehead protector. She rarely wore it, but it was proof she was a shinobi. She was a shinobi, just like everyone in her family was at some point in their lives. At least...everyone on her father's side — the only side of her family she knew. Taylor never knew her mom or anyone from her mother's side of the family. Damned if they wanted anything to do with Kakashi's daughter. That's okay though, she loved spending time with her father and grandfather. At least they cared about her.

Sighing, she left her room and headed into the kitchen, then out the back door and headed out to train.

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As soon as it had started raining again outside, Taylor went back inside and showered the muck and off of her. She stood facing away from the shower head, letting the hot water pound on her back. After a few seconds of thinking, she poured vanilla-scented hair soup into the palm of her hand and she worked it into her thick, silver hair. Still-wet dirt in her hair was cleaned and rinsed from her hair. When she finished with her hair, she looked down and realized how much dirt was in her hair. _I'm so glad I didn't trip into the puddle like that in front of Daddy or an enemy. That would've been awkward,_ she thought.

As she grabbed the sponge to start washing her body with and drizzling her cherry blossom-scented soap on, curiosity was sparked in her mind. How would her mother have reacted to seeing her covered in mud? Taylor didn't know. She never knew her own mother. Sometimes, it just amused her to wonder how her mother would react. Probably different from her _otousan_ because he would just laugh and hand her a towel. Her _okaasan_...What would she do? Taylor couldn't ask her from beyond her grave, so all Taylor could do was imagine what would happen.

Sometimes, it was just funny to wonder how things would be if her mother was alive. Taylor didn't know why, it just seemed funny to her.

After shaving her legs (and this time she came out with cuts. Not surprising) and rinsing off all the soap, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a towel. _The rain must've kicked up...I can hear it pouring now,_ she thought.

Sighing, she wrung her hair out and got dressed in her casual clothes. Then, she went out to her room and picked up her brush, sitting down on her bed. As she brushed her hair, she hummed. After a few moments of brushing, she rested her arm and looked out her window, watching the rain come down relatively hard. _I love the sound of rain,_ she thought. _It's so soothing._ Closing her eyes tightly, she went back and worked a painful knot out of her hair.

"Te te te te..." was her response to the pain.

Once she was done, she got up and she put the brush away, switching it out for a book. Silently, she laid down on her bed and began reading.

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Late that afternoon, the elder Hatake went out and checked the mail, only to find a letter from an old friend of his. He tore it open and began reading;

_Dear Sakumo,_

_I hope all is well with your son and your granddaughter. Has she grown any taller? Prolly not, she takes well after her own mother!_

_Well, I'm just letting you know I have been feeling pretty under the weather lately. I haven't been sleeping well, I don't eat much anymore so I'm pretty low on energy and I've been feeling oddly irritable. I hope this isn't something serious, but I'm planning to see a doctor about it. Oh, how I dread doctor's visits._

_Well, like I said, I hope all is well with you guys!_

_Take care,_

_S. Kobayashi_

Sakumo sighed, _I hope she's okay. I want Taylor to eventually meet her. She's so sweet and funny...Taylor would like her. I know she would._

Sighing, Sakumo shoved the letter into his robe and he took the rest of the mail (mainly bills, yuck) inside to deal with them later and to fix supper.

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	3. There is Secrecy Running Amuck

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

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_**Chapter Three**__  
_There is Secrecy Running Amuck

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Taylor slipped out of the house the next evening to clear her foggy mind. Without a sound, she walked towards the village and she glanced around. The sky was a brilliant red and the clouds reflected a lighter shade of the red. The trees on either side of the path were a black shadow against the darkening sky. A chilly breeze blew orange, red and yellow leaves from their host tree and tugged at Taylor's silver hair, which shone pink thanks to the red lights. She shuddered from the chilly breeze. Even under the warmth of her black long-sleeved shirt and her thicker grey-blue jacket, she still felt cold.

Silently, she covered her nose and mouth with her hands and exhaled into them, trying to reflect warmth towards her icy-cold nose. It wasn't working, but it was worth the shot. Sighing, Taylor shoved her hands into her pockets and kept walking towards the village.

Not even five minutes after she entered the village, she was 'ambushed' by her teammates, Daiichi Endo and Yuri Kimura. They both jumped to her side and nearly knocked the unaware jounin over trying to use her to regain their balance. Taylor caught herself, looked at who attacked her and then clenched her hands angrily.

"Damnit Daiichi, Yuri! What do you want?" she hissed.

"Just to say we're not your teammates no more," Yuri grinned. The double-negative in the sentence made Taylor flinch. _Why they don't want to speak properly is beyond me._

"Yeah, Tsunade is reassigning you. We don't know to who or when, but we just know you're being reassigned for a mission."

Taylor's anger faded into confusion.

"Why wasn't I told this by the Hokage herself?" she wondered.

"Dunno, but aren't you glad you don't have to deal with us anymore?" Yuri asked.

Closing her eyes and tilting her head up, Taylor took a moment to think.

"Yeah, I actually am," she said, looking at them. She smiled, "And I bet you two are just as glad you don't have to deal with _me_."

"Oh, we are for sure," they grinned.

"Good," Taylor inclined her head respectfully. "Good luck, you two."

"You too, Senpai!" they grinned and dashed off.

_You guys are crazy, and not in the good way,_ she thought bitterly. Taylor sighed heavily and debated whether or not to go talk to the Hokage or not. Another cold breeze rushed past her and Taylor decided to go confirm what Daiichi and Yuri told her. Maybe she could be warmed up for a few minutes. Some warmth sounded great to her. Sighing, she began walking again.

While she walked towards Tsunade's office, lights from the buildings started to light her way. White light illuminated Taylor's pale face and her silver hair, and a little bit of red light from the sky continued to illuminate in Taylor's hair. The air had a cool, crisp feel and smelled kinda like pumpkin pies and other autumn goodies. _Ohhhh it smells so good,_ she thought.

As soon as she got to Tsunade's office, she found the door to be open, but she knocked anyway. It was the polite thing to do.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Surprised, the Hokage looked up.

"Taylor? What are you doing here? I haven't summoned you..."

"...Yet," Taylor smiled wearily. "You were about to so you can tell me something. Would that something happen to be that I'm being reassigned?"

"How'd you know?" Tsunade was shocked.

"Lady Tsunade, don't look so shocked," Taylor grinned. "You and I both know that Daiichi and Yuri can't keep their mouths shut."

"Oh...right..."

"You shouldn't have trusted them to keep a secret," Taylor smiled. "Cat got out of the bag quickly now didn't it?"

"Yeah," Tsunade smiled back.

"Unless...You did it on purpose," Taylor proposed her idea. "You know full well if you told them it was a secret, they would go find and tell me despite you telling them not to. So in a way, you were summoning me."

Tsunade smirked, "You're very smart, Taylor. You're right, I used them to summon you. Kudos to you, you figured it out."

Taylor laughed wearily, "Well my _otousan_ is Kakashi Hatake. My level of intelligence comes from his side, mostly. Either that or I've spent way too much time with my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my dad and my uncle."

"I would think the latter," Tsunade chuckled.

They chuckled a little and then stopped. Silence reigned until Taylor decided to ask her the question that roamed in her mind.

"So uhm, why am I being reassigned?" Taylor wondered.

"You get to have your very own team for a special mission," Tsunade answered.

"What?" Taylor was surprised. "A...special mission?"

"Close the door," Tsunade ordered. "And have a seat."

"Yes, ma'am."

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"...So I head southeast tonight?" Taylor wondered after being given the explanation. "To the port?"

"No, tomorrow morning. You need your rest and breakfast. You'll get to the port by supper time if you hurry," Tsunade clarified.

"And I will meet my teammates there?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," Tsunade nodded.

"Alrighty then..." Taylor looked away. "I get to buy a journal and a sketchbook."

"This mission might be a little long, Taylor. Prolly two or three months. This guy is hard to find," Tsunade warned.

"And I'll get a pack of pens and pencils. I'll be inking and hatching most of everything I draw in that time..." Taylor added.

"Pack clean clothes, weapons and necessities for your mission, alright?"

Taylor looked at Tsunade.

"Of course..." she nodded.

"Get stationary paper if you want to write to your folks — don't ever give them any details about the mission, Taylor. I know you want to tell them everything that's going on, but you can't. Alright?"

Taylor looked down, "Yes ma'am. I won't tell my dad or grandpa about this mission."

"Good," Tsunade smiled. "Good luck. Now, go rest up. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Taylor bowed and turned.

"Wait," Tsunade grabbed a set of files off of her desk. "Read up on your teammates. They're doing the same."

"Yes ma'am," Tsunade handed Taylor the files and she bowed. "I promise I will take out the son of a bitch. I promise."

"Good," Tsunade smiled. "Now, go on."

"Yes ma'am!" Taylor grinned and left. Tsunade smiled softly, _I hope I made the right choice...although I know I did._

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Taylor headed to Kiiro's Arts and Crafts and obtained a travel sketchbook, a pack of pencils, a pack of pens and a journal. She brought the stuff to the owner, Kiiro Oshiro. The woman's emerald-green eyes fell down upon the girl and she smiled softly, taking her stuff to get run up.

"Going on a long mission, eh?" Kiiro asked.

"Yeah..." Taylor looked down. "Can't say what though."

"Oh?" The woman smiled. "I see...It's a top secret one too. Wow. I never thought I'd get to see the day you go on a top-secret mission. Just like your great-grandfather and great-granduncle, as your grandfather told me.

"Yeah, but unlike my great-grandfather, I get to lead this mission like his brother," Taylor replied.

Kiiro looked at her, "...you're leading it too? And 1500 yen." Taylor gave up the 1500 yen.

"Yeah..." she looked down again.

"Wow, so many surprises..." Kiiro said, handing her stuff back. "You be careful, okay?"

"I will," Taylor promised with a smile.

"That all?"

"Yeah. I will see you when I come back," Taylor bowed.

"Okay. Take care, Taylor!" Kiiro bade her good luck.

"You too, Kiiro-Sama," Taylor smiled and headed back home.

Not once did she looked at the files on her teammates. She didn't want to see until she headed out the next day. When she got home, Taylor opened the front door and slipped inside.

"_Tadaima_!" she called, setting her stuff on the couch so she could untie her hair.

Kakashi glanced up from his book, smiled gently, then spotted her stuff.

"What's with the journal and travel sketchbook?" he wondered.

"Mission," Taylor answered. "I'm not allowed to say what it's about. And I get to lead it..."

"Oh?" Kakashi smiled. "I see. Can't even tell me, your old man?"

Taylor shook her head, "Nope. _Gomen_."

"Man, that sucks."

"I have to get up early tomorrow. About six or seven. Okay?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, of course. I will wake you up myself, alright?"

Taylor nodded, picking her stuff back up. With a light sigh, she walked to Kakashi and kissed his cheek, saying, "I'm going to bed."

"Okay," he kissed her back. "Goodnight."

"Night, Daddy," she smiled and left to go to her room.

Sakumo stopped her at her room.

"Top secret mission?" he asked in a lowered voice.

"Yes," Taylor nodded. "Why?"

"Where?"

"I can't say," Taylor entered her room and Sakumo followed her.

"Please, you can tell me," Sakumo pleaded. "I won't tell anyone. You know that."

Sighing, Taylor gathered her things to put into her backpack.

"Fine. The Ocean Country," she said. "The island south of the Fire."

"Going overseas? Wow," Sakumo remarked.

"Yeah. Reminds me almost of —"

"Kiri," Sakumo finished. "When Dad and my uncle and captain were there for their top secret mission."

"Yeah, but instead of being Grandpa, I'm Monkey-Heart. I get to lead the team," Taylor sighed. "I don't think I'd make all that great of a leader. I'm lucky I can deal with Yuri and Daiichi."

"Oh..." Sakumo smiled. "You'll be fine, I know you will."

"Thanks," Taylor quickly put her stuff into her backpack, starting with the extra clothes in case she gets wet or they get shredded. Then, she put in her entertainment and then zipped up the bag. "Goodnight, Grandpa. I'll see you bright and early."

"Alright," Sakumo kissed her head and allowed her to go to bed.

"That was weird," Taylor muttered when Sakumo left. "He better not tell anyone..."

Sighing, she put her backpack down on the floor and crawled into bed. Excitement pulsed through her body and she thought, _I can't wait to do this. I hope my teammates are nice to me though..._

Those thoughts made it hard to sleep, but eventually she drifted off into a light sleeping state where she can easily be woken up.

.

Sakumo sat down at his desk and finally wrote back to his driend. He took out a pen and a sheet of paper, turned on his lamp and got comfortable. Then, he began writing:

_Dear Kobayashi,_

_All is well with us, but uhm, one thing: Taylor is headed your way. I've slipped a recent picture of ehr in the envelope so you know what she looks like, if you want to see her and I'm sure you do. But, be aware that her mission is top secret, don't ask her anything about it. I'm lucky she told me where she was going. _

_And of course, that doesn't sound good, K. I hope it's nothing, I don't want you in the hospital. _

_I think that's all._

_Take care,_

_Sakumo H._

He flicked his wrist and folded the letter to fit into the envelope. Then, he sealed it closed with a quick lick of the bitter glue and gave the address. Then, he summoned his dog, Natsu, and gave it to him.

"Take this to Kobayashi, Natsu," he ordered.

"Of course, Sakumo," Natsu took the letter and disappeared in a cloud of dust with it to take to Kobayashi.

Sakumo sighed and sat the pen down. He glanced out the window and then at his clock. _It's late_, he thought._ I should go to bed_. Yeah, he should, and he knew it. Rising to his feet, Sakumo turned off his lamp and moved over to his bed. Grunting, he sat down and slipped his kimono off to reveal his more casual clothes and he took his hair out from his hair tie and placed it on his nightstand. With another grunt, he laid down in his bed and pulled his blankets over him. A pang of guilt went through him when he laid down and he thought about it. He promised Taylor he wouldn't tell anyone, but then he turned and told Kobayashi. But, he had to. It was one person, a person that he trusted, and a person Taylor would trust to. Or, at least that's what he hoped. Meeting Kobayashi would be very good for Taylor, even if it meant they never see each other again. Taylor had to meet Kobayashi.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

.

Kakashi woke her up at quarter to seven that morning so she could get a shower while she could. He opened her door and slipped into her room. Silently, he made his way to her bed and he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetheart," he shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up."

Taylor opened her eyes and looked at her father. It took her a moment to remember that she had a mission that day.

"_Ohayo_," she murmured sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning," Kakashi smiled. "Go get your shower. Who knows when you'll have a decent shower in those months you'll be gone?"

"True," Taylor nodded and stood up.

"Grandpa is making breakfast," Kakashi mentioned.

"All I need is fifteen minutes," Taylor hugged him and gathered her clean uniform.

"Alright," Kakashi nodded. "I think that's all he needs too.

Taylor smiled a bit and both left the room, Taylor heading into the bathroom and Kakashi heading into the kitchen. Silently, Kakashi pulled out a bento box and began making Taylor a lunch.

"Making her a lunch?" Sakumo asked as he stirred the pot of miso soup.

"Of course," Kakashi smiled. "Just like I do every time she goes on a long mission.

"Any mission," Sakumo corrected. "You do it almost every mission she goes on."

"That's beside the point," Kakashi muttered.

"Put some soup into a thermos so she has supper too," Sakumo suggested. "After we eat, of course."

"Yeah, of course," Kakashi started making triangular-shaped onigiri to go in his daughter's bento. He cut out symbols to create a scarecrow face (3 へ's, 2 の's, 1 も, 1 じ per onigiri ball) and Sakumo glanced at his son.

"You just enjoy making that scarecrow face," he grumbled as Kakashi stuck the face on the rice ball.

"You shouldn't have named me 'Kakashi' then," his son teased.

"Hey, it seemed right," Sakumo told him. "You came off to me as a 'Kakashi'. Besides, it fits and it's cute."

"It's cute?" Kakashi looked at his father. "Really not?"

"Oh, when you were a baby, you were adorable. I thought it was cute that you liked scarecrows..."

"You're crazy," Kakashi grumbled. "There is nothing cute about being named 'Kakashi'."

Sakumo clapped his hand on his son's shoulder blade and looked at him straight.

"Son, I am the son of your grandfather. I am not just crazy. I am a certified lunatic," he clarified.

Scoffing, Kakashi put the rice balls into the bento box and closed it.

"She loves my bento boxes," Kakashi smiled.

"You know, you're so much different around Taylor," Sakumo realized. "...Than you are around everyone else."

"Well, weren't you the same with me?" Kakashi wondered.

"True," Sakumo agreed.

"Besides, she's my kid. I love her. I'm a father at home or when I'm with her and I'm an apathetic shinobi around everyone else. Then again, no one is more important to me than my own daughter."

"Well...you joke around people..." Sakumo reminded.

"I didn't say how apathetic I was, Dad," Kakashi pointed out.

"Okay, you got me," Sakumo smiled.

A few minutes later, Taylor walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and she headed into the kitchen.

"_Ohayo_!" she greeted.

Both men looked at her.

"Good morning, sunshine," Sakumo smiled.

"Breakfast smells good," Taylor commented.

"It's miso," Sakumo told her.

"Smells good," she smiled.

"Go sit down," Kakashi told her. "I'll make your bowl."

"What?" she looked at him in confusion.

"Just do it," Kakashi grinned.

"Alrighty then..." she sat down at the table and Kakashi fixed her a bowl of soup and he brought it over to her.

"Eat," he grinned. "You'll need to keep up your strength."

"Yes Dad," she picked up her chopsticks and began eating her breakfast. Soon, Kakashi and Sakumo sat down with her and together, they ate.

.

"Got your kimono or your jacket to stay warm?" Kakashi asked as Taylor prepared to leave.

"My jacket. Yes Dad, I'll be fine. I have my great-grandfather's katana and a journal and a travel sketchbook and stationery paper to write to you and Grandpa," Taylor assured him.

"I just...I just worry about you sometimes," Kakashi sighed. "You're a little...absent minded."

"A little?"

"Very," Kakashi sighed again. "...and clumsy..."

"Dad," Taylor hugged him. "I will be just fine. I'm seventeen and I am a jounin...and I am your daughter."

"That's also why I sometimes worry about you," Kakashi chuckled wryly. "You're my daughter, possible target for a lot of my enemies."

"Dad," Taylor looked up. "Don't be so clingy. I'm gonna be just fine...I will write as often as I possibly can, I promise. Okay?"

The father's warm-grey eyes fell upon his daughter's ice-blue eyes and a warm smile formed on his lips.

"I'm just giving you a hard time, silly," he told her.

"I figured as much," she chuckled. "I'm going now," she kissed his cheek and then gave Sakumo hugs and kisses.

"You be safe," Sakumo ordered. "And that's not a request," he winked.

"I will, Grandpa," Taylor promised.

"You better be," he grinned.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards the door. "I love you guys."

"I love you too," both Kakashi and Sakumo responded.

Without another word, Taylor opened the front door and stepped outside and closed the door behind her. That was going to be the last time she would see them for a few months, and that made her a little anxious. But she's almost an adult, she can take care of herself. They're adults, they can take care of themselves. At least, that's what Taylor hoped.

.

.


	4. Team Taylor

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

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.

_**Chapter **__**Four**__  
_Team Taylor

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.

The sky was cloudy; the morning air sent chills down Taylor's spine. Orange and red leaves were torn from their tree branches and blown across the clearing. Above her head was a canopy of orange, yellow, green and red, bringing a feeling of warmth throughout Taylor's body. A cold gust of wind made her shudder. _So cold today!_ she remarked in her head.

Soundlessly, she opened her thermos cup and drank the hot chocolate to warm her up. _I hope I find some place warm to eat lunch,_ she thought bitterly, then glancing up, peering through the canopy and at the clouds. _And that it doesn't rain till we're on the ship_...

.

The dark-haired man walked wordlessly, reading up on his teammates. He started with the team's leader, Taylor Hatake. _She's 17-years-old, a jounin and has many talents. Her father is Kakashi Hatake, her grandfather is Sakumo Hatake. Her mother? Deceased. Her nature types are lightning, water and fire._

_And she doesn't seem to be able to get along with those her own age._

Tachibana Jakobe scoffed, _We're being led by a little kid? What bad luck! _He exhaled loudly. _What can possibly go wrong while being led by a kid?_

Jakobe didn't want the answer to that. Instead, he shifted the file to the back and began reading about the rest of his team.

.

The awkward, light-haired boy looked at the files on his teammates, of course started with the team leader, Taylor Hatake. Sato Haruki read her profile, then looked at her picture. _She's kinda pretty,_ he thought. He looked down to read about her likes, interests, dislikes and talents. _She likes cats, owls, wolves, manga, singing, and hanging out with her father and grandfather. She's interested in science (mainly cosmology), music, art, books. She doesn't like disrespectful people or bullies. She's a favorite amongst the older jounin. She's a published author and she's an artist, doing her own book covers, and she sings occasionally for fun._

Haruki smiled, _This is the first time I've actually had many things in common with someone...That's good._

Of course he didn't care that she was 17 and she was leading the group. He was just glad he found someone who shared common interests with him.

.

Early that afternoon, Taylor found refuge from the chilly, autumn air and sat down to eat lunch. The place she found was a nice restaurant that was willing to let her come in to eat her bento box. She sat down at a table and pulled out a triangular onigiri ball. _Scarecrow_, she thought. _I see what you did there, Daddy. What a doof!_ She giggled softly to herself and began eating it. While she ate, she read her teammate's files. Tachibana Jakobe, a genjutsu and ninjutsu expert. 20歳. Mizushima Kaede; Medical nin; 19歳. Sato Haruki; Ninjutsu expert; 18歳.

Taylor bit into her onigiri. _They're all older than I am, _she realized. _That seriously bites. I'm the _baby_ of the team and I am the leader. Is Tsunade serious?_ Of course she was, and Taylor damn well knew it. She sighed, _Oh dear goddess, I hope I don't make any mistakes. The pressure is seriously on now..._ She shoved the last onigiri into her mouth and put away the papers and the empty box. Slipping her backpack on to her back, she stood up, grabbed her drink and bowed to the owner.

"Thank you for letting me eat and warm up in here, sir," she handed him some change. "Here's some change to show how grateful I am."

He took the change, "Thank you and you're very welcome, Miss Hatake. Come back any time."

Taylor smiled, bowed again and left.

.

The first one to the dock was timid Haruki Sato. He looked out at the raging sea and he swayed a little as he watched the raging seas. _I hope I don't get sea-sick,_ he thought hopefully. A cold gust of wind blew at him, trying to play with his short hair, but with no such luck. He stood tall at 5'11", with grey eyes and pale skin. He wore the standard Konoha uniform, except his shirt and pants were grey and he wore a blue forehead protector on his forehead, like most shinobi did.

He glanced uneasily at the big, wooden ship they were going to get on. They had to use a row-boat to get to it and he wasn't fond of small spaces. You could call him claustrophobic, but really it depended on the day and his mood.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps on the wooden dock. They were soft and light, almost cat-like. The light-haired boy glanced over his shoulder and at a girl with silver hair. She was pretty short, but her hair was very long but she kept it tied back. She wore an odd-looking pale-sage vest, obviously a style not really worn anymore. Her eyes were an odd ice-blue color, yet she wore a warming, kind, gentle smile on her face.

"Hola," she greeted with an unknown phrase.

"H-Hello?" Haruki responded.

"You must be Haruki Sato," Taylor held out her hand for a handshake. "I'm Taylor Hatake, I'm team captain."

With a bit of shyness, Haruki grabbed her hand and they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," he whispered.

"Likewise," Taylor smiled.

A small smile formed on Haruki's face, _she's just as pretty as her picture told, if not much prettier._

Taylor looked out at the sea and sighed.

"Looks like a storm is a-brewin'," she told him. "I hope it doesn't interfere..."

Haruki nodded in agreement

"Y-Yeah."

Next to arrive on scene was Mizushima Kaede, the team's medic. Together, Taylor and Haruki turned to get a glimpse of the newcomer. She was close to Taylor's height, but slightly taller. Her hair was a light blue-lavender color and her eyes were a bright yellow, which seemed to go well with her pale complexion. Just like Haruki, she wore the standard Konoha uniform but her shirt and pants were a light grey with a purple tint to them. Taylor smiled.

"Mizushima Kaede," she greeted. "I'm Hatake Taylor, I am the team captain. And here beside me is Sato Haruki."

Kaede bowed, "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Likewise," replied both Haruki and Taylor.

"So we have Haruki and Kaede and there's one more...I hope he comes soon, I have hot miso soup to eat," she murmured.

At last, a tall man with hostile, green eyes and an apathetic expression arrived on the scene, wordlessly walking towards them. His posture was stiff, much like a board, and as he approached them, he gazed at them like a hawk. Haruki's face went pale and he stepped backwards while a bead of sweat slid down Taylor and Kaede's cheeks.

"Oh, my uncles would get a kick out of this," she thought out loud. "I have a Dalzen-like person on my team...he and Saru would get a kick out of this..."

The man, who had dark, spiky hair and wore the standard Konoha uniform, stopped in front of them, sliding his half-framed glasses up on his nose.

"H-Hi," Taylor kept herself composed even though at that moment, she wanted to hide behind Dalzen and make him deal with it, but he wasn't there so she couldn't do it. He used to be just that way, as she remembered from her great-granduncle's recollections of the Kiri mission. "You must be Tachibana Jakobe...I'm Hatake Taylor, she's Mizushima Kaede, and over here by me is Sato Haruki."

Jakobe grunted, then he spoke, "I can't believe we're being led by a 17-year-old...girl."

Taylor's heart dropped and she hung her head, "Wow...your reputation very well proceeds you, Mr. Tachibana."

Jakobe gave her another grunt, but it came out sounding like, "Whatever, punk."

Taylor sighed and shoved her cold hands into their respective pockets as a small boat headed towards them. Two men sat inside, rowing it towards the Konoha team. Taylor glanced at them.

"Our ride to the ship is here," she murmured.

The men parked the boat and stepped out to greet Taylor

"Captain is ready," one told her.

Taylor nodded, "Thank you, sir." she turned to her team. "Are we ready? No second thoughts?"

Everyone — except the Tachibana — nodded.

"There's no going back once we get on the boat," Taylor reminded.

No one said a word and Taylor grinned.

"Fantastic," she said. "Let's go!"

.

Everyone commanded an oar so they could get to the larger ship. The air was tense, thanks to Tachibana's harshness towards the team's captain. Way to get off on the wrong foot.

As they rowed the boat, Taylor was distracted by the sky. She stared at it, rowing the boat without having to look. Occasionally, she took her eyes off the dark clouds and would look at the ship.

Haruki kept stealing glances at the young Hatake. She looked both nervous and intimidated. Glad he wasn't the only one intimidated by the Tachibana's presence. Kaede watched Jakobe without a word. Jakobe stayed in his own world..

Taylor glanced at Haruki while he was he was stealing a glance at her and he looked away quickly, brushing his sandy-colored bangs to the side again. His cheeks turned a little pink and Taylor noticed, but she said nothing about it.

Finally, the boat came up to the starboard and everyone got off, Taylor being last. The captain greeted the team with a hearty, "Welcome aboard the Yaru-ki!"

Everyone bowed.

"I have to things: One; we have set aside quarters for you guys below deck and two; if there are any questions or concerns, please consult my assistant, Miki. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Taylor and her team answered.

"Good. Now you all have free reign on the deck but please mind us."

Taylor nodded again, "Of course. Thank you, sir."

They bowed and Taylor spun around to her teammates, "Let's go sit down somewhere and hopefully eat and get acquainted even father."

She lead her troupe to a nice corner and they all sat down. Amazingly, everyone had a supper of some sort brought along and Taylor smiled, opening her thermos of still-hot miso soup.

"I'm sure these files on each other did us no justice, so I want to know everyone better so there's no hard feelings later if someone hurts someone's feelings."

She looked at her teammates.

"I'll start. I'm Taylor, I'm 17 and I enjoy drawing and writing. In fact, I'm a published author and I do my own book covers...Uhm...I respect you as long as you respect me. I don't do teamwork very well, I'm a very independent person, but I would like to try to get better at it." She looked at them with a small smile. "Now, who's next? Tachibana?"

He glared at her and intimidation filled her veins. He made no sound. Instead, he looked away and ate his food without a single word or sound. Heck, a little grunt of a "no" would've sufficed.

"O...kay..." she hung her head. "How about Kaede?"

Kaede, with her light, blue-lavender hair and yellow eyes, looked up.

"Uhm," she covered her mouth and swallowed. "I'm kaede...I'm a medic and I enjoy reading, especially romance books."

"Oh? Looks like we have a romantic here," Taylor bantered softly with a smile."Much like my dad...but what he reads is like...I don't know...50 Shades and Icha Icha. I've the misfortune to pick up one of the Icha Icha books and read a chapter," Taylor shuddered. "So much...sex..."

Kaede giggled.

"I'm not that kind of romantic. That's too much, even for me," she told Taylor.

"I wonder why my dad reads them," Taylor wondered. _Perhaps to fill that void in his heart where my mom was?_

Kaede shrugged, "Who knows..."

"Ugh, and of course the one who wrote 'Icha Icha' is also my uncle. Jiraiya. I still can't believe I'm related to that pervert!" Taylor looked up. "Uhhh sorry, I digress. Gomen."

"It's okay," Kaede assured.

Taylor put a spoonful of miso in her mouth and swallowed, "And you, Haruki? What do you do for fun?"

"...I read, mangas mainly. And I do a little woodworking," he said reluctantly.

"Oh?" Taylor grinned. "Can you make me another bookcase for my manga and book collection?"

A wry smile formed on his lips, "Sure. Give me a design and I will make it for you."

"Awesome," Taylor grinned. "I think we'll get along just fine then."

Tachibana shrugged. He wasn't going to be easy to get along with, and Taylor sensed this. _I hope he warms up to me_, Taylor though hopefully.

.

No one stayed above deck that night. Rather, they stayed below deck to escape the torrential rain and fast and powerful wind. Taylor stayed in her cot and tried to write in her journal. Just like her uncle. Wouldn't he be proud of her...

_Nichiyoubi — first night,_ she wrote, almost in her uncle's voice. _Stormy, violent seas. Barometric pressure dropping from 29.84 millibars. High was 56 degrees and has dropped down to a bitter 35 degrees. Our ship is the Yaru-ki, or Enterprise. Hah...and our captain, unfortunately, isn't Jean-Luc Picard. But his first name is Jean-Luc. Hahah...must resist Star Trek puns._

_さとはるき : Shy kid, but so far really sweet. 18. He keeps stealing glances at me...I wonder why though._

_たちばなじゃこべ : Apathetic; cold; so far kind of rude; Anti-social. 19. Not going to push my luck._

_みずしまかえで : Medic nin. A romantic, and luckily doesn't read the stuff my dad does. Thank the goddess. 20. Is pretty nice and respectful._

Taylor looked around, then wrote her name; _はたけテイラー : team captain, but I'm the baby of the group. Country Hidden by the Ocean mission has commenced. As Uncle Monkey would remind me: watch out for snakes...and bugs. I don't like bugs. _

Taylor slapped two seals on the side of her notebook and she threw it into her backpack with the pen. Then, she untied her hair and she slipped the blue hair tie onto her wrist. She laid down on her cot, pulled up the blanket and closed her eyes.

_Her name means the Enterprise_, she mused, then broke out humming the show's theme song, then she fell asleep.

.

Taylor woke up late the next morning, thanks to Haruki tripping over his feet and landing face first on the hardwood floor. Taylor's eyes flew open and she sat up. _What was that?_ she wondered. Without a sound, she stood up and explored the halls until she found Haruki sitting up.

The boy with light, sandy hair sat up on his calves and held his hands on his knees, with his head down. _Darn it,_ he thought bitterly._ Clumsy as every, Haruki. What do you have to say for yourself? _Taylor walked up to him.

"You okay?" she asked, smiling.

The boy looked at her.

"Hatake-Sensei," he murmured.

"Taylor, please," she smiled.

"D-Did I wake you?"

"I'll be fine," Taylor assured. "The better question is, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine...j-just tripped," Haruki explained, his cheeks turning pink.

"Clumsy, eh?" Taylor grinned, helping him up. "It's okay, I'm the same way, Haruki. No need to be embarrassed, at least in front of me.

Haruki stood up with her help and gave an awkward smile.

"Th-Thanks," he thanked her.

"No problem," Taylor grinned.

.

The young Hatake stood at the bow, fumbling with her black katana and she hummed softly. An odd tune it was, noted a crewman named Imahara and he approached her curiously.

"What are you humming?" he wondered.

Quickly, Taylor shoved her katana back into its sheath and she glanced at Imahara.

"Who, me?" she shrugged. "Ever heard of _Star Trek_?"

The crewman shook his head, and before he could speak, the ship jerked, nearly knocking Taylor overboard. She gripped the railing and kept herself on board. A wry chuckle slipped from her mouth._ Thank the goddess it wasn't my fault I nearly fell this time_, she thought in amusement.

"Gomen!" cried out the sailor.

Taylor gave him a thumbs-up and looked back at Imahara.

"It's the show's theme song. Well, for The Next Generation it is," she explained. "And the ship is called the Enterprise, and I just can't help myself," she grinned.

"Oh..." the crewman shrugged and walked away.

Taylor looked back at the water and sang something else.

_The minstrel boy to the war is gone  
and in the ranks of death you will find him_

Suddenly, there was a presence full of irritation beside her. The presence sent chills down her back and she turned. It was the tall Tachibana.

"Can I help you, Jakobe?"

"Can you not sing?" the tall, dark-haired man hissed.

Taylor frowned and looked away.

"Does it..._bother _you?" she wondered. She continued a little bitterly — almost as bitterly as her great-grandfather, and that took a lot coming from Taylor, of all people, "Or is it you dislike me so much that you just want to shut me up and take off the mission yourself?"

Jakobe pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. A wry smile appeared on his thin lips. That's a first. Who knew this man could show an expression other than disgust?

"That's a little...harsh, isn't it?" he wondered. "Especially coming from you, someone with a reputation for being a kind person?"

"No, not really," she told him straight. "If you're nice to me, I'm nice to you. If you're a jerk to me, I will be a jerk to you. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and apparently you want to be treated like you're an asshole. Got a problem with how I am, speak up now, Jakobe."

"Yeah, I have a problem with a kid leading us," the Tachibana spat.

"Well, you can get over yourself because Tsunade chose me to be the leader of this team and I will do my damnedest to lead it," Taylor spat back at him. "And you won't get him my way."

Before something regrettable was said, Taylor walked away and calmed herself down.

"Not like him," she thought, talking about her non-biological uncle. "He showed no emotion and hardly spoke. Tachibana speaks and showed a tiny bit of emotion."

She sighed heavily, _why can't people be nice like Kaede and Haruki?_

Damned if she knew.

.

Taylor sat on the deck the second night and wrote in her journal.

_Getsuyoubi — second night. Barometer reads at a steady 30.2 millibars. No signs of storms, although clouds continue to cover the sky. Nearly got into what I like to call a 'pissing contest' with Jakobe. Arrogant brat. I know this'll be a long mission for us with his attitude._

She tied her hair up into a sorta bun, held up by her pen and she slapped a seal on her notebook. Nothing else happened that evening.

.

_Kayoubi_ _— third night. Nothing happened. I stayed the hell away from Jakobe. Not pushing my luck, for it might just run out..._

.

One more night on the ship. Taylor huddled under her blankets, drawing her father and grandfather with her mechanical pencil. Her father was without his mask, and he was grinning as if he made a joke, and Sakumo was rolling his eyes at his joke — typical, really. Neither one was ever amused by the other's joke.

Taylor giggled, _I love drawing them together like this._

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was Kaede.

"Yes?" wondered Taylor.

"We're almost at the port," Kaede told her.

"Okay, I'll be out in a few minutes!"

Taylor shoved her sketchbook into her backpack and slipped her sandals and her vest on. Quickly, she slung her bag over her shoulders and dashed out of her room and out to the deck. She rushed over to her team and stood at the bow, watching as the boat inched closer. The sky was a warm pink and the air was warmer than it was the past few nights. She checked the thermometer; 61 degrees fahrenheit, it read. A small smile formed on her lips. _Nice,_ she thought.

Just another hour, and then they got off and began their search to execute the serial killer, Tanuma Shiroi.

.

.


	5. Curiosity

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

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**_Chapter Five_**

Curiosity

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Warm sunbeams shone down at the team that day as they entered into the humid rainforest of the Ocean country. The sun was high in the sky and there was no cloud in sight. It was as if there were after a rainstorm occurred there the previous day. The ground was definitely moist and wet with rain and there were puddles every few feet and everyone had to step around them. But the humidity was a killer for the team, who were all wearing their autumn outfits.

"So humid!" Kaede groaned.

"I know..." Taylor agreed.

"And we thought Konoha was bad..." Haruki shook his head and took off his forehead protector and allowed his bangs to fall over his eyes.

Taylor stopped, unzipped her vest and slipped out of it, then she slipped out of her shirt, leaving her in her undershirt and pants, which she tried to convert into shorts. Then, she stuffed her shirt and vest into her bag and then she took the wrappings off her calves and stuffed them in too.

"While we've stopped, you all should get comfortable too. Lady Tsunade did not mention we would be heading into a humid rainforest," Taylor grumbled.

Everyone did as she said and took off their jackets and only one other person took off their shirt and that was Haruki. Jakobe stayed quiet as he got out of his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Once everyone was comfortable, they continued on.

"Let's take a break," Taylor suggested about an hour in.

"Yeah, let's..." everyone — including Jakobe — agreed.

.

Not even a day later, Jakobe blew at Taylor. It started that next afternoon when Taylor ask him what was wrong.

"Nothing," he answered in a hiss.

"You sure?" Taylor wondered. "There's gotta be something wrong, especially with that face."

"I said nothing is wrong. Go away!"

"Get it off your chest," Taylor probed "What is it? Me?"

Jakobe closed his eyes and willed himself to stay calm.

"Fine," he started harshly. "You want to know why I'm upset? My little sister is in the hospital with Leukemia! And it's terminal. With my luck..." he just lost it at that point and almost started crying. "My luck...sh-she'll die while I'm here, working on the damn mission."

Taylor tilted her head curiously and wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Why didn't you stay with her then?"

"She begged me to go!" he exclaimed. "She wanted me to save someone that could actually be saved. I had to come, she wanted me to. But it doesn't stop me from being guilty! I should never have left her side..."

Before he could cry, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes roughly. His sister's illness was terminal, but all the Tachibana could do was pray she'd somehow — by a mere miracle — survive it. He was not too happy about being unable to see his sister for such a long period. What if she died and he wasn't there to say goodbye?

That was making Jakobe bitter towards these...trivialities Taylor, Kaede and Haruki displayed. In a very painful way, it reminded him of his little sister. Too painful to bear, yet the shinobi remained strong. He wasn't about to let it put a damper on his skills.

"...I'm sorry you're in this situation," Taylor apologized.

"Not your fault..." Tachibana sighed heavily and rubbed his arms.

No one spoke for the rest of the very humid day.

.

_Suiyoubi — fifth night. Temperature hovering around a humid 65 degrees. Humid!_

_I finally have figured out what is wrong with Jakobe; he wants to be at his sister's side. I feel kinda bad for him. I hope she's alive when he gets back._

_I hope he's okay..._

.

Nothing much happened for the first month. No sign of the serial killer they had to find and take out. While they walked through the dense rainforest of the Ocean Country, they kept an eye out for a bad guy. Taylor hummed to herself. Typical. Nothing different about that.

Suddenly, Kaede cried out in confusion and surprise.

"Guys!" she cried out.

The young Hatake spun around.

"Kaede?"

Haruki and Jakobe looked around.

"She was right behind me," Jakobe said.

"Kaede?!" Taylor called, then looked at the boys. "Split up and find Kaede."

"Right," they both agreed, then dashed in opposite directions. Taylor turned around and went searching for her teammate.

"Kaede!" she called. "Kaede!"

Haruki called out his teammate's name as well. He was fine for awhile, nothing happened to him but he couldn't find Kaede. Everything was fine until someone grabbed him from behind, startling the poor boy. Shocked, he cried out Taylor's name and then he was paralyzed and silenced with a hit on the back of his head.

"Taylor!"

She looked up.

"Haruki..." she realized that was a cry of help, not that he found Kaede. "Hold on! I'm coming, Haruki!"

She spun around and headed to where Haruki was, following his scent trail.

Jakobe was next to be caught. He did the same thing Haruki and Taylor did, called out Kaede's name, and then he got caught. Just like Kaede and Haruki, he screamed for help and was knocked out.

That left Taylor alone and worried. Haruki's scent disappeared, then she followed Jakobe's but his too stopped. Her heart raced. Her team was captured and she was the only one left, making her a bit anxious. _What do I do? What would they do?_ she wondered.

Before she could come up with an answer, someone touched her shoulder and suddenly, she felt breath on her neck and instantly was paralyzed, making her unable to fight back. _Way to go Taylor!_ she wanted to scream at herself. But it wasn't her fault, she was focused on finding her teammates and that was a good thing, but that left her vulnerable to being caught too. Taylor rolled her eyes at herself. She should've kept her guard up as well as finding her teammates.

"Ack...I can't...move..." she strained.

"It's a jutsu," came a deep voice.

"Where are...my...t-teammates?" she asked.

"Good night, Hatake."

The last thing she was conscious for was a whack to the back of her head. Then, darkness.

.

A woman with long, white hair with a flower hair clip in her hair and blue eyes sat on her front porch with a photo of her child in her hands. The child very well resembled her father and grandfather, yet most of her facial features came from the woman herself.

"Kobayashi," someone walked up to the white-haired woman. "We heard screams and decided to check it out. I think we found your child in an abandoned house and I guess her team. We didn't go in because we weren't sure...I think they were captured though."

Kobayashi stood up, clutching the photo.

"Why didn't you get them?"

"We couldn't interfere," the man said. "We could've risked our covers being blown..."

"Fine...Bring me to them," she said. "If they're hurt, I can fix them here. Maybe we can sneak in with me..."

.

Whoever kidnapped the team, Taylor in particular, dumped water on the team captain's head. It wasn't just any water, it was ice-cold water that froze on impact. Taylor woke with a start.

"Gah!"

"Why are you Leaf shinobi here?" the deep voice asked.

"Huh?" Taylor tried to look, only to realize that she'd been blindfolded. _That doesn't do me any good_, she thought bitterly.

"I'll ask you again, why are you Leaf shinobi here?"

"Why should I tell you?" Taylor spat.

"Wrong answer," the man slit her cheek. Taylor gave a small grunt. "Again, why?"

"I'm not telling you," Taylor answered.

"Why are you shinobi here?"

"Kiss my ass," Taylor spat. "I'm not telling you why we're here. You're stupid if you think I'll give us up so easily."

The man stabbed her back and unconsciously, Taylor let out a pained scream.

"What are you doing to her?" Haruki cried.

"Shut up, kid!" Then, the man looked at Taylor again and gave her another shot. "Why are you guys here? If you don't answer or give me a bad answer, you can kiss your own ass goodbye."

"I refuse to tell," Taylor growled.

The man, holding a cold kunai to Taylor's warm throat, accidently let it slip because a rat came out of nowhere and made him jump. The cold knife slid across her throat, leaving a nasty cut in its place and blood gushed out quickly from the cut. Taylor cried out and then was left whimpering because that's all she could've done. Her vocal cords were damaged.

"Damn, that's not what I meant to do," the man grumbled. "Oh well. She's worthless anyway."

The man threw her on the ground and allowed her to bleed out.

"Taylor?" Kaede whispered.

All Taylor could do was whimper softly, but after a few minutes it stopped. After that, nothing.

"Taylor?" Haruki asked.

No response.

"Bastards!" Jakobe yelled.

"Wake up!" Haruki and Kaede cried at Taylor.

"Knock 'em all out," came one of the other men in the room. "And dispose of them. All of them. But first, take their blindfolds off. Let them see their 'captain'."

Each one of the other captors took the blindfolds off of the ninja they caught and made them look at their captain. All three of them saw Taylor, laying in her own blood, lifeless. All three of them wanted to shout and scream, but no one could bring themselves to do it

"Anyone want to say something before we kill you too? Even though that wasn't really the original intent..."

Haruki, Jakobe and Kaede looked at each other. _No way I'm telling, _Haruki thought. _I will take our secret to the grave,_ thought Jakobe. _Nothing for me to say_, Kaede thought bitterly.

"Nothing," they all said at once.

"Alright, kill 'em!"

Each captor took a syringe and jabbed it into the team's arms, releasing the unknown substance.

Haruki felt dizzy after five minutes. Jakobe passed out after seven. Kaede closed her eyes and passed out too. When they were all unconscious or dead, the men took all four out and dumped them all by a nearby cave.

No shinobi were going to go after their master and make it out alive.

.

The group with Kobayashi finally came across the team of shinobi by the cave. It was humid, and thankfully no decomposition has taken place to any of the kids.

"Is this the group?" Kobayashi asked.

"I believe so," the man told her.

Kobayashi walked over to Taylor and bent down beside her. Gently, she placed her hand on Taylor's throat and checked her pulse. No sign of a pulse, that's not good!

"Grab a kid," she ordered. "And bring them to my house. I can fix all four of them."

"Right."

Kobayashi placed her hand on Taylor's cheek and then scooped her up.

"You'll be safe now," she promised the girl. "I promise."

.

Taylor woke up several hours later, after her wounds were fixed and...brought back to life? How could that be possible?

It was morning, a really cloudy morning. The air smelled like miso and rice, which is what woke Taylor. As she came to, her entire body started to ache — or, she started to notice her body aching. A groan rose in her throat and she slowly opened her eyes. Natural light from the window filtered into the room and stung her eyes. Taylor weakly covered her eyes with her hands and slowly allowed her eyes to adjust. Once they adjusted, she looked around. _Where am I?_ she wondered.

Grunting, she sat up and her body screamed at her to lay back down. Suddenly, she realized she wasn't wearing a shirt. She looked down and her stomach was bandaged and her chest was bound up so they wouldn't be visible. Taylor's throat hurt. It wasn't like the indescribable feeling she had when she got sick kind of hurting, it was more like her throat was slit and was pretty much healed kind of hurting. _What happened?_ she wondered.

Taylor stood up and looked around. The room looked a lot like her own room, except smaller and no dresser or desk or even a nightstand. All that was really there was a bed and a first-aid kit, oddly enough. Stubbornly, Taylor stood up and she found a clean shirt laying on the desk in the corner. Taylor took it and slipped into it, then she made herself walk out to find whoever put her there.

She opened the traditional-style door and walked into the hallway. The smell of miso got stronger and she followed it into a western-style kitchen. In the middle of it was an island with a granite countertop. Going around the left side of the kitchen were cabinets and drawers, also topped with granite countertops. In the middle of the bottom cabinets was a sink, which stood in front of a window. Over at the island were her teammates watching a woman cutting up kamaboko, an avocado and a cucumber into thin slices. She did it very quickly, much to her team's amazement.

"You're so fast!" Kaede exclaimed.

"Not even my mom can cut that fast and she does these all the time!" Haruki remarked.

"I wanna make that for my sister," Jakobe smiled. "She loves these."

"You guys give it a shot," the white-haired woman smiled, then she looked up at Taylor. "Ah, Taylor. So glad you could join us."

The young Hatake jumped, startled by the woman suddenly saying her name. Her teammates turned and looked at her.

"You're awake!" Haruki breathed a sigh of relief.

"I told you guys she'd wake up," the woman smiled. "She just needed to get her blood-levels back up to par."

"Taylor, your mom does some amazing cooking."

Taylor furrowed her eyebrows up in confusion.

"My...mother?" Taylor's voice was hoarse and very quiet, mainly since her vocal cords were cut and they still needed time to heal. She was lucky she could even speak. But, she didn't know that they were cut and she continued, "She's not my mother, my mom is dead. You must have the wrong person." She looked at the woman.

Kobayashi smiled gently at Taylor and showed her the picture Sakumo sent her, "No, Taylor. I don't have the wrong person...I'm your mother, Setsuna Kobayashi. I was never actually dead."

Taylor's jaw dropped as she looked at her photo and then at Setsuna. Taylor suddenly remembered Setsuna's face from a picture Kakashi had of her. There was no doubt she was shocked.

Someone had some explaining to do for Taylor and Setsuna knew this.

"Sit down," she said. "And I'll finish making brunch and I'll tell you everything."

Taylor was still in shock, but she nodded and sat down with her team.

This was going to take a while...

.

.


	6. Angry or Sad?

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

.

.

**_Chapter Six  
_**Angry or Mad?

.

.

Taylor clutched her pentacle and out of nervousness, she played with it. Kaede and the rest of the team were silent, mainly because there was nothing any of them could say that would help Taylor recover from the shock of finding out her mom was alive. Setsuna stayed quiet, knowing Taylor needed the quiet to think. Silently, she made them all their bowls and plates and she set each bowl and plate to their respective eater. Then, she sat out spoons and chopsticks and without a word, they started eating.

Taylor didn't want to eat. She stared at her food in a daze, trying to think.

"What happened to us?" she demanded.

"Don't try to talk so much," Setsuna warned.

"Right," Taylor shrugged and continued, "I remember...being interrogated...then, I blacked out...I don't remember anything past that..."

"They slit your throat, actually that was accidental. Too early, and then they just left you to bleed out," Kaede explained.

"You died. You didn't just black out," Jakobe grunted.

"I...what?" Taylor hung her head in a barely audible whisper, she said, "I may be stronger than my father, but I seem to find myself in odd situations where I get hurt..."

"Your mom rescued us though," Haruki smiled. "She fixed out wounds and brought us back to life."

Taylor looked at Setsuna.

"Brought us...back to life?" she questioned cautiously.

Setsuna sipped her miso broth and sighed, "I'll explain later, my dearest."

Taylor frowned, "If you really are my mom, who's my father? What's he —" she started coughing and shook her head. _I can't talk much! It hurts so much..._

Setsuna giggled. "Sakumo was right, that you would ask me those kinds of questions..." She pulled out a photo of her and Kakashi. "This should be proof enough. I was very pregnant with you in this picture...8 months, I think. New Year's Eve, of course. That was a week before he went on his last ANBU mission. He missed your birth because of the mission."

Taylor took the photo from her and looked at it closely. Her father was in a nice kimono and not wearing a mask or his forehead protector. Setsuna was in a white, floral print kimono and her hair was tied up in a bun with hair-sticks sticking out, and it was very obvious that she was pregnant in the photo.

"The last one I got with your father..." Setsuna sighed.

"Your father looks hot without his mask," Kaede commented.

"That's creepy, Kaede," Taylor grumbled, looking at her father. "But, I guess you're right...he is handsome..."

Taylor shook her head quickly.

"How'd you get my picture?" she asked.

"I communicate with your grandfather," Setsuna smiled. "I know, you have so many questions —"

"Damn right I do," Taylor grumbled.

"And I will get to them, but for now you must eat. You need as much energy as you possibly can get," her mother said as if she knew how to be a mother without having been one before.

"Fine," Taylor began eating her brunch.

.

Everyone helped in cleaning up. Setsuna loaded the dishwasher, Kaede hand-washed, Taylor hand-dried, and Jakobe and Haruki had the daunting task of putting away dishes. Everyone was quiet, except when Jakobe or Haruki had to figure out where a dish went, which was very often.

When everyone was done, Setsuna ordered Haruki, Kaede and Jakobe to go rest in their rooms.

"You guys will be weak for a little while still, so rest would be very good for you guys," she explained.

The three looked at Taylor.

"You guys are dismissed," Taylor ordered. "Go rest. We want to be up to par when we encounter the serial killed.

"Yes, sensei," they bowed and left to their room.

Silently, Setsuna poured her and Taylor cups of tea and handed one to Taylor.

"Let's sit outside," she suggested gently to her daughter. The mother's blue eyes were weak and sat, but Taylor's blue eyes stayed relatively calm, despite the fire raging internally. All the child could do was take the glass and nod.

"Okay," she acknowledged quietly.

Silently, Setsuna led Taylor outside to the back porch and they sat on the bench swing. It was just like the one Taylor had at home. She could remember back when she was in her great-grandfather's time, sitting with the elder Hatake. Every time she sat on a bench swing, she imagined him sitting with her. But she wasn't sitting with him. Instead, she was sitting with her mother, who she was pretty sure was dead. Taylor dreaded whatever had to be said today, right there on the back porch.

Setsuna was quiet, contemplating what to tell her daughter first, the story or the bad news? Taylor sipped her tea, admiring the mountainous view. There were trees in front of the mountains, a whole forest and when you looked at the mountains, they appeared to be blue. The air was cool and crisp, a contrast to the humidity and heat of the lower part of the island. Underneath the thin, black shirt she was wearing, she shuddered but she tried to pretend she wasn't cold. She could hear her _hisofu_ seeing past her stubborn wall and making her wear his robe. He could easily see through her façade. No matter how strong she thought she was, he saw right through. She wondered how he did that.

Setsuna sighed heavily, "Where do I start?" she dusted her red and gold floral patterned apron and sighed heavily, "Do you want my bad news first before I start explaining myself?"

"What bad news?" Taylor wondered in a very quiet voice.

The white-haired woman sighed, not having heard her daughter.

"I'm...sorry...this is so sudden for you," Setsuna said suddenly. "First, I want your forgiveness."

"Why?" Taylor demanded. "You _abandoned_ my father and I."

"There is...good reason for that," Setsuna closed her eyes. "I know, Taylor. I was never a mother to you — how could I be? I was never in your life because I was a coward. Whether you accept me as your mother is up to you. If you don't, I accept it. I just want you to know that I am truly, truly sorry."

Taylor was dead silent. Her silence listened for pins dropping or her ghost _idaiōoji_ talking to her, but she heard nothing but the wind. Her mother, who was supposedly dead but she found to be alive, wanted her to forgive her for abandoning her and Kakashi? The words in her head were ice cold, and she fought internally to keep those words inside her head. It was better that way. Taylor fought it and flinched. She dreaded her mother's following words, after her begging for forgiveness. "Will you...forgive me?" he mother asked softly.

It was funny how much this reminded her of Sakumo's story about her _hisofu_'s final days (or weeks? How was she supposed to remember?).

Taylor's eyes kept their gaze on the Blue Ridge Mountains, as she decided to call them, and she thought about her answer. .

"Yes," she hesitated.

Taylor looked at her mother, narrowing her eyes, "But what you have to say about your reasons for doing this will really depend on my answer. For now, it's a yes."

"Thank you..." Setsuna smiled

"So, what's the bad news?" Taylor whispered.

Setsuna looked at her.

"Pardon? Forgive me...I'm going deaf..."

"D-Deaf?" Taylor was surprised.

"I'm dying...of lead poisoning," Setsuna explained. "That's...partly why I'm deaf and it's the bad news. I'm sorry."

Taylor's face grew pale and she kept silent and remembered the was walking completely uncoordinated, she stumbled and she would occasionally hold her hand on her stomach. She didn't eat much of breakfast and there were some bags under her eyes, despite the foundation she wore to hide her fatigue.

Taylor's _ojiisan_ told her that death was not a trifle word, and she agreed. Once it sank in, there was no way back.

Taylor swallowed hard.

"Are you...s-scared?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Y-Yes..." Setsuna answered. "I am...but this can't be fixed..."

Taylor remembered the shinobi rule of conduct not to show grieving emotions, but Taylor was not one to adhere to that one specific rule. She'd rather show her distress than to not do so. Setsuna noticed her eyes being reflective in the bright light of the sun.

Her eyes fell upon her hands, feeling very numb, but she did what she could to move it over to Taylor's hand and hold it.

"I'm...sorry," she repeated.

Childishly, Taylor puffed out her cheeks and sighed.

"I meet my mom for the first time in seventeen years, only to find out she's dying," she grumbled.

Angrily, Taylor stood up.

"Whatever it is that you want to tell me can wait till later," Taylor looked at Setsuna. "I need time to myself."

"Of course..." Setsuna looked down. "I can wait to tell you..."

With a stomp of her foot, Taylor walked back inside and stormed into her room.

Setsuna sighed as the sky grey cloudy and the wind kicked up, "I figured she'd want time to herself. Oh, dear Buddha, please don't take me just yet..."

.

Taylor closed her door and fell to her knees. She wasn't sure how to feel. Was she to be angry? Sad? Devastated? What?

She clutched her tiny pentacle encircled by a crescent moon with celtic designs with her hand and she clenched her jaw in frustration. Taylor was just overwhelmed with emotion. _Otousan, what do I do?_ she thought. _Ojiisan?_

She couldn't imagine Kakashi's response, but she could hear Sakumo tell her to hear her mother out. After all, he willingly heard his father out even though he was mad with him. Should Taylor do the same? She didn't know. What if her mother was going to give her some stupid excuse for her absence?

Despite the risk, she demanded answers...right after she did some relaxing.

Shakily, Taylor stood up and crawled to her bed. Thankfully, he backpack made it back into her possession so she unclipped it and opened it up and dug out her journal. She opened it up and started writing. She spent a good thirty minutes writing it, and then she slapped a seal back on the side and tossed it back into her backpack. Then, she threw herself down and thought a lot.

She didn't come out for the rest of the day.

.

Taylor came out in the evening, just as the sun began to set. It was just after supper, and everyone was in their room resting again. Taylor was changed back into her shinobi uniform when she left her room. Silently, she walked out to the kitchen and she walked in more serious than ever. In fact, she almost looked like her _hisofu_ with the seriousness mixed in with anger and despair.

"I will hear you out," Taylor yielded to her mother.

Wearily, Setsuna looked up at her daughter and she smiled.

"Very well," she winced as she stood up. "Sit. I"ll reheat the soup and talk."

.

"Oh..." Setsuna sighed as she turned on the stove to reheat the soup. "Where do I begin?" Thoughtfully, she put her hand on the counter and leaned heavily on that side. "Let's...start at the beginning."

She closed her eyes.

"We come from a clan of healers — life givers. Your grandmother was a medic-ninja, but she was more than that. The woman put life back into the dead. All of us could do that. We could do it by the time we were ten. I was no different.

"We were wanted for our powers, to bring back loved ones," she started suddenly. "At first, we did...all until maybe forty years ago. We finally realized our powers were being abused and we finally said, "No, we won't do this anymore'. No one liked that answer and some of us were hurt because we actually stood up for ourselves.

"Just before I turned twelve, a group called 'Gōmon' was formed to kidnap any female Kobayashi and force her to raise back the dead. If we refused, they raped us. Sick bastards..."

Taylor was silent.

"A little after my twelfth birthday, I was captured by a Gōmon man and was held in a cell to bring back a serial killer. I refused, and at the time I didn't know about the consequences of refusing, and of course I learn the hard way. One of the men started undressing me. I screamed, but everyone started laughing at me. Once I was undressed, they threw me onto the bed and lowered their pants and underwear."

Setsuna covered her mouth and nose in horror as she recalled the horrid details.

"And...he got on top of me and said, 'You do not resist here, bitch' and he...he started raping me. I cried, I screamed, I shouted 'no' but no one listened. They all laughed at me, like it was some kind of joke. It went on for hours and then they decided they were done with me and...they threw me out into the cold without my clothes. Oh! Those guys were just awful."

She shuddered as if she could remember how cold she was. That she could feel her entire body was going hypothermic again and she was getting frost bite again.

"I stumbled home," she continued. "I was hypothermic by the time I got home — I'm lucky I even made it home... — and I was immediately warmed up by getting into cozy pjs and sitting by the fire. I cried. I cried for days, but I told no one about the rape. Not until I found out something rather disturbing...

She swallowed hard, and Taylor was eager to hear whatever this "disturbing" thing was.

"...I was pregnant...with your brother, Mitsuho Kobayashi."

.

.


	7. The Secrets Are Unraveled

**Taylor  
****テイラー**

.

.

_**Chapter Seven  
**_The Secrets Are Unraveled

.

.

Taylor's jaw dropped for the second time that day.

"...My...brother?"

Setsuna nodded.

"You have an older brother, he lives in Konoha but he went to live on his own before you were born. He was only ten when he did...Why would your father let him do that? Who knows...he's strange, but that's why I love him."

She sat a bowl of soup down in front of Taylor.

"Eat and keep up with your strength," she ordered with a smile. "Alright?"

Taylor frowned but said nothing and ate the chicken soup."

"Where was I? Oh yeah...I'd noticed I'd been eating slightly more than normal and I'd been throwing up in the mornings so I went to my mom about it. Oh...the look on her face was priceless in retrospect...but she put me in hiding so I wouldn't be found again and so, I gave birth the following November. Mitsuho was a healthy little boy born with blue eyes and white hair. November 11...

"You both have it," Setsuna sighed. "You guys have the gift of healing and bringing people back to life. After Mitsuho was born, I kept him inside as much as possible until he was three. We both went outside, but not without covering our eyes..."

"Does Mitsuho know about me?" Taylor coughed and winced at the pain from her vocal cords.

"Yes, yes. He does. In fact, he watches over you as much as he possibly can. And he comes and visits me as much as a shinobi can."

Taylor finished eating and Setsuna sighed.

"Tell you what, come back whenever you can and I'll finish the story. I'm not feeling so well right now and you guys are going to leave tomorrow, I know...Alright?"

"Okay," Taylor put her bowl into the sink and bowed, then she went back to her room.

"I dropped so many bombshells on her...I hope she's okay..." Setsuna sighed.

Taylor went to her room, closed the door and crawled into her bed.

She has a brother; her mother is still alive; and her mother is dying.

How should she feel about that? Taylor had no idea, and it kept her up at least an hour before she finally fell asleep. Sweet dreams, but her dreams weren't sweet.

.

Taylor woke up early the next morning and reluctantly ate breakfast with Setsuna and her teammates. The air was tense between Taylor and her mother, but Taylor was the one emitting the tense emotions. No one spoke a word. After they finished eating, they all headed to their rooms and gathered their things. Setsuna stumbled towards Taylor's room with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She walked into her room and watched Taylor stuff her stuff into her backpack. Her daughter clasped her backpack closed and stood up quickly, slinging it over her shoulder. Staring down angrily at her feet, she turned around and walked into Setsuna. Taylor took a step back and looked up at her mother.

The white-haired woman took her daughter's hands and clutched them weakly.

"Will you come back and finish hearing me out?" she asked softly, gazing down into Taylor's ice-blue eyes.

Taylor tried to break her mother's icy gaze but couldn't. She swallowed hard, trying to keep herself perfectly calm, despite her emotions overwhelming her. She trembled but she nodded.

"I-I will," she answered hesitantly.

"Thank you..." Setsuna smiled.

"I'm going now. I'll see you later," Taylor broke her mother's gaze and brushed past her. She gathered her team and headed out. Setsuna looking down and sighed.

"We'll, she's gonna come back," she assured herself.

.

They walked around all day in search of the serial killer from Konoha. Taylor occasionally walked into a tree, then she'd step back and walk away. Finally, when they all took a break from searching, Taylor asked the question that had been tugging at her mind.

"How would you guys feel?" Taylor asked once she gathered up the courage to ask.

"About what?" Jakobe grumbled.

"Yeah. About what?" Kaede asked.

"If...all of your life, you were told your mother was dead...and then you meet your mother after like 17 years and she's alive...but then you find out she's dying and that you have an older brother that you never knew. How would you feel?"

"Wait, your mom is dying?" Kaede asked.

"Supposedly...of lead poisoning. Perhaps there's lead on the walls or something..." Taylor sighed.

"I would feel deceived," Jakobe answered Taylor's question. "And angry."

"Yeah," Kaede and Haruki agreed.

"I would be surprised and sad," Haruki sighed.

"I would be confused and upset," Kaede answered. "How do you feel?"

"Lost...angry...confused...mixed up completely."

Kaede nodded.

"That's reasonable," she told Taylor.

"It doesn't feel reasonable," Taylor grumbled.

"This is a situation not many shinobi have been through," Haruki assured. "It's okay to feel that way."

"All I wanted growing up was a mommy because everyone else had both their parents," Taylor admitted. "All I had was my father and grandfather — not that it's a bad thing, I love them — but having a mom would've been nice sometimes too..."

Everyone looked down.

"I'm sorry," Jakobe apologized.

"Us too," Kaede and Haruki apologized.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Taylor sighed. "But how will I tell my dad about this?"

"I don't know," Haruki sighed.

"You've got a lot of time to think about it," Kaede assured.

"I suppose you're right..." Taylor frowned. "I'm gonna keep going to my mom for the story..."

"That's a good idea," Kaede nodded.

"I hope it is..."

.

18 years prior to then, Setsuna Kobayashi walked through the Village Hidden in the Leaves with little Mitsuho getting groceries when a tall ANBU man with silver hair and grey eyes approached them. Setsuna felt a tap on her shoulder and she tried to not drop the food items in her arms as she jumped from being startled. She turned around and looked at the man. The silver-haired man smiled behind his grey mask.

"Would you like any help carrying that?" he offered. "Looks like too much for you to carry."

Setsuna's cheeks turned pink.

"Uh...uh..." she looked down at Mitsuho, who hid shyly behind her. "Sure."

She allowed the man to take two bags for her and together, they walked to her home, the strange man following behind her.

"I-I've seen you around," the man told her. "I've just been...a little too shy to approach you. Uhm, I think you look very lovely."

The man paused, "Ah! I'm sorry, that must sound so creepy! I mean...w-we don't even know each other and I'm saying that I've seen you around and— "

"It's okay," Setsuna smiled. "It's not creepy. Thank you."

The man looked down at quiet Mitsuho, "Your kid is pretty quiet."

"He's a child of few words. I think that's a good thing too because I don't know what I would do if he was a loud child," Setsuna smiled.

"If I have a kid, I hope they're quiet like he is," the man thought out loud. "Oh! I never gave my name. I'm sorry...I'm Hatake Kakashi."

"I'm Kobayashi Setsuna and this little man is Mitsuho," Setsuna replied as they approached her house.

"Calm Snow? Wow, that's a rare name," Kakashi thought. "Nice. I like it."

Setsuna pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting Mitsuho in first and she and Kakashi went inside and he helped put away things and they chatted. Once they were done, Kakashi had to leave.

"Hey, uhm I-I've gotta leave," he scratched the back of his head nervously. "W-Would you like to hang out sometime? You know, get lunch or something?"

"Sure," Setsuna smiled. "Sounds good. Tomorrow afternoon at Ichiraku's sound good?"

"Sure," Kakashi smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

"Fantastic," Setsuna smiled. "See you then."

.

"We had dated for only four months, but we knew we were meant to be, so Kakashi asked me to move in with him outside of Konoha," Setsuna told Taylor when she came back. They talked over tea. "And one night, late the April before you were born, the last week...we had sex and...of course, you were conceived. I didn't know I was pregnant till I missed my period. When I told your father, I think he was absolutely happy about it."

She swept her white hair behind her ear and sighed.

"Then I started being stalked by the group — the Gōmon — and by December, I knew I was going to have to escape it... I had heard that they had gotten even worse with the Kobayashi clan. My aunt had given birth to a child, then they were taken and they killed the baby and made her bring him back to life. I couldn't let them do that to you..."

"One day I asked Kakashi about his father and he told me that his father committed suicide thirteen years prior. That's when I came up with a plan. I was going to bring him back and have him help Kakashi raise you while I hid. I-I though that if it was just them and you that you would be safe..."

"You were safe with them then you were with me, unfortunately," Setsuna continued. "They had no way of knowing you were my child, especially once you were born and that I saw you had grey hair. Most of us have white hair, you're the exception."

"Did Daddy know?" Taylor asked.

"No," Setsuna sighed. "He did not...he doesn't know any of this. Only Sakumo knows."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to burden Kakashi like that," Setsuna sighed. "I couldn't..."

Setsuna cleared her throat and continued, "But as I was saying... Kakashi went out for a month-long mission, his last one before he left ANBU, and I was left to plan. It was...I'd say, January 21, that I went to Sakumo's grave and I dug him out and I brought him back to life. I won't explain how I did it because it's complicated and I don't want to complicate things even farther for you."

Taylor nodded.

"But uhm...when I was done, he didn't wake up. He didn't wake up for nearly a week because he was dead for so long and because he lost so much blood. I took him home and did what I could to make him comfortable and keep him alive. How did a nine-month pregnant woman get a 6'0" and 160 lb man back home? A clone, of course." She sighed and smiled. "I cleaned him as best as I could with a wash cloth, I fed him, I gave him water...I did everything a nurse would to someone in a comatose state. And as crazy as it sounds, I spoke to him. Not that he heard me, but I spoke with him..."

"he woke up three days before you were born. I was sleeping in Kakashi and I's bed and I woke up to a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and Sakumo. He asked..."

.

"Who are you?" Sakumo Hatake asked. "What are you doing in my house?"

Setsuna sat up slowly and strangely enough, Sakumo helped her.

"I'm your daughter-in-law," she answered, sitting up against the wall behind the bed.

"But...Kakashi is too young to — "

"He's twenty now, Sakumo. You've been dead for 13 years...you're about to become a grandfather, and this is your second chance to raise a child."

"Wh-What?" Sakumo was confused. "Oh...I guess I did die..."

"And I brought you back to life," Setsuna added. "Sakumo, I need your help."

Still shocked, Sakumo looked at her.

"Y-Yes?"

"When the baby is born, I have to run," Setsuna started. "there's a group after me for my powers — I can bring people back to life — and if they find me, they will rape me again, but they won't go easy on me this time. I have to run immediately after the baby is born. I don't think it'll have my powers, if it does it'll be safer with just you and Kakashi because it won't learn how to do what we can do."

Setsuna sadly rubbed her stomach, dreading leaving the baby behind.

"You have to tell everyone that I'm dead. It's best if no one knew I'm alive...If I'm found...it won't be pretty."

Sakumo looked down, but reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, I suppose I can do that."

"But I want to stay in contact with you. I want to have picture of the child and know how he or she is doing. I hope it's a girl though...I've always wanted a girl." Setsuna shook her head. "Will you stay in contact with me?"

"Yes...of course," Sakumo sighed. "I will."

"I'm so sorry to do this to you," Setsuna apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Sakumo smiled. "I'm just glad I'm alive and that I can be there for my grandchild...Oh, I was such an idiot...going and committing suicide! I never will do that again...I want to be there for Kakashi and my grandchild..."

Setsuna smiled, "That's good."

Suddenly, they heard the front door open.

"Kakashi must be back to check on me," she remarked. "Silly...he should be finishing his mission, not checking up on me. I told him that."

"Setsuna!" Kakashi called.

"I'm our room, resting dear!" she called back. "You say nothing of this, Sakumo."

"...Right."

Kakashi ran down the hallway till he got to their room, only to find his wife and...his father?

"What the..." he was surprised. "Dad?"

"Uh...yeah...hi son," Sakumo chuckled nervously.

"Oh, your father came back to life somehow," Setsuna lied. "I don't know how though..."

Kakashi was in too much of a rush to care.

"Okay, that's not weird," he grumbled. "But uhm, I had to stop home to make sure you haven't given birth yet."

"I won't," Setsuna assured. "They said the ninth the second time, remember?"

"Yeah, and originally it was the thirty-first. They could've been wrong the second time," Kakashi grumbled.

"You have a few days yet, Kakashi," Setsuna assured. "Go back."

"I'll be home late on Sunday, okay?" he smiled. "Don't give birth before that."

"I can't control that," Setsuna said, kissing him.

"I know, but I can hope," Kakashi sighed. "I'll be back, I promise."

He glanced at Sakumo and disappeared into thin air.

.

"Three days later, on January 31, I was born," Taylor said. "And then you ditched us."

Her emotions were mixed up. How was she supposed to feel?

"I'm sorry, I was scared..." Setsuna apologized. "I hurt you and Kakashi..."

"You're damn right you hurt us!" Taylor cried out.

"I'm sorry..." Setsuna apologized.

"'I'm sorry' isn't gonna fix the damage that's been done!" Taylor exclaimed.

"I don't expect you to understand," Setsuna muttered.

Taylor stood up and walked into the backyard and tried to think. She came back to her mom and she wasn't happy at all, and Taylor had no idea what she was about to say.

.

Taylor took in a deep breath. _Deep breath, deep breath_. That wasn't going to help. Her mother hurt her and her father. Worse than hurting her, she hurt her father. Although Kakashi was a strong jounin and didn't get emotionally hurt much, she knew very well that he would be hurt knowing that his own fiancee couldn't trust him to know what she was or to protect her. Taylor's shoulder trembled as she imagined the pained look Kakashi would give her. The disbelief he would show.

"I'm sorry," Setsuna apologized.

"Do you realize how upset Dad will feel when I tell him this?!" Taylor yelled. "Dad might be a tough guy but even he has his limits. Just like every other person."

"Taylor —"

"No!" Taylor's eyes teared up. "Damnit."

She rubbed her eyes roughly and she trembled as she tried to hold herself together.

"I always wanted a mom as a kid because everyone else had theirs...except me...it would've been nice to know and have my mom," she whimpered softly. "I don't know how many times Dad said he needed you to help me. I don't know how many times he took me to Tsunade for girl things like bras or my first period."

She held her head.

"...Sex! Sex was the one thing he was too embarrassed to talk to me about. You know, Tsunade is a Hokage, not a sex ed teacher but she helped anyway because she knew I needed a mother figure because you weren't around."

Tears streamed down her face. "You're damn right I don't understand. And I know Dad won't understand either."

Taylor looked her mother in the eye.

"Your brother will be able to help you understand the powers you have," Setsuna whispered. "He ran off to the village when I was three months pregnant with you."

Taylor didn't hear. Rather, she didn't_ want_ to hear it.

"I hope you are happy with this..." Taylor stormed out without another word. She ran off through the forest back out to her teammates, about a kilometer away.

When she got there, Kaede looked up.

"Hey Taylor! How did it —"

"I'd rather _not_ talk about it," she grumbled.

"Let's just keep looking," Jakobe suggested.

"Yeah," Haruki agreed.

"Good idea. Maybe we can find this son of a bitch and execute his ass and we can get the hell out of here," Taylor puffed out her cheeks in irritation.

Haruki, Jakobe and Kaede looked at each other.

"I've never heard her curse like that before," Kaede realized.

"Yeah. She's definitely mad," Haruki said.

"What'd her mother say?" Jakobe asked as Taylor stormed off to find the serial killer.

"Something that seriously set her off," Kaede muttered.

"Should we let her work like that?" Jakobe asked.

"We shouldn't get in her way," Haruki muttered.

"Good idea," Kaede noted. "You don't want to get in the way of a pissed off woman."

"Y-Yeah," both men watched Taylor search around angrily. "You can say that again..."

.

.


	8. Call Me A Sinner, Call Me A Saint

**A/N**: Okay I feel like this one is necessary for this chapter. The title of this chapter is "Call Me A Sinner, Call Me A Saint" which is a set of lyrics from Shinedown's, "Call Me" on their "Sound of Madness" album. I just think the song is fitting for this chapter so I ask everyone who reads this to, after you read it, to go youtube the song "Call Me" and understand why I chose the particular song as the theme of this chapter. If Setsuna had a theme song, that one would be hers. "Call me a sinner, call me a saint. Tell me it's over and I'll still love you the same." (btw if you find the "Call Me" live in Kansas City, that is my personal favorite so listen to that one too.)

* * *

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

.

.

_**Chapter Eight**_  
Call Me A Sinner, Call Me A Saint

.

.

A chilly December and January followed that day, yet they hadn't found anything. Until less than a week from the captain's birthday they came across someone. Or rather...someone's dead and rotting corpse. Naturally, Taylor was the first one to notice something off. Her nose caught an off scent and she covered her small nose with both her hands.

"Ew...Anyone else smell that?" she wondered.

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, then shook their heads.

"No," they responded.

"Should we investigate this scent that you're smelling?" Kaede wondered.

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "We should. I have a bad feeling about it..."

"Alright," Jakobe agreed.

"Let's go check it out," Taylor said, taking the lead for the team.

Stealthily, the shinobi troupe made their way through the thick pine tree forest part of the Ocean Country. The ground was covered in snow, since they were in the mountainous part of the country where it was much cooler than the rainforests below, but they managed to be stealthy. As they got closer to the source of the nasty smell Taylor caught a whiff of, everyone else started smelling it too and it only got worse for Taylor.

"Yuck," she buried her nose in her collar.

"What is that smell?" Haruki wondered.

"It smells like a dead body," Kaede groaned.

"And I think you may be right," Taylor realized when she got to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a rotting human body. Everyone looked and Haruki, Taylor, and Kaede began gagging at the sight and smell of the rotting body.

"Oh," Taylor put her hands on her stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"I will join you," Kaede agreed.

Both girls ran behind a bush and both of them started throwing up whatever lunch they still had left in their stomachs. Haruki soon joined them. Jakobe was the only one not traumatized by the sight. Instead, he took out a picture and he tried to match the facial features to the man in the picture. Unfortunately, the vultures and coyotes had already gotten to him, so his face was pretty chewed up and decayed. But the clothes and the hair were a perfect match and Jakobe sighed, taking out a mini fingerprints kit and took his prints to match it to the prints that were in the system. He waited a few moments to make sure it matched the prints and once it confirmed it, he stood up and took pictures to verify that he was dead and walked over to his three younger teammates.

"It's him," he confirmed. "It's Shiroi Tanuma."

Everyone gave a thumbs up to Jakobe and then tried to recover. Once everyone recovered from the horror and the awful scent, they looked up at him.

"That saves us the trouble of having to kill him," Taylor grumbled.

"Yeah really," Haruki agreed.

"So what do we do now?" Kaede asked.

"Find out when the next ship to the Land of Fire leaves.

"Alright," everyone nodded and followed Taylor away from the dead serial killer.

.

They all arrived at the port, only to find the next ship back to the Fire was leaving February 1. Taylor sighed heavily.

"Let's spend the week relaxing?" Kaede suggested. "There's a hotel with a nice hot spring and there's also a spa that I could take Taylor to and us ladies can get pampered for a few hours. How's that sound?"

"A-A spa?" Taylor wondered. "I-I've never been to one. I don't know, Kaede."

"Oh, it'll be fun," Kaede promised. "You get your back massaged by really hot guys and well, you just completely relax. You will love it."

"As long as they're not putting stuff on my face...I suppose." Taylor looked at the guys. "So us ladies get a room separate from them?"

"Of course," Kaede grinned.

Haruki looked at Jakobe and took a side step.

"Uh...I dunno if I want to sleep in the room with him," he said.

"Why? Are you..._afraid_?" Jakobe smirked.

"Uh...N-No..." Haruki smiled wryly. "Uh..."

"You'll be fine with Jakobe," Taylor promised. "He won't hurt you. If he does, I will hurt him back for you."

"Hey!" Jakobe grunted. "I'm not that bad."

"I wouldn't put it past you," Taylor grumbled. "Whatever. Let's just go to the hotel Kaede has in mind."

"My uncle owns it and it's a really nice one," Kaede smiling, leading the team.

"How convenient," Taylor remarked quietly.

.

The team got to the hotel and Taylor signed them in and got two rooms, one for the men and one for the ladies. Together, Kaede and Taylor went to their room and got settled in.

"So what do we do for five days?" Taylor asked.

"Relax," Kaede said. "Rest. We deserve it after finding out target already dead after spending about four months looking everywhere for him."

Taylor sat on her zabuton and bit her bottom lip.

"How did someone get to him before us? It was top secret, since we didn't want to alert him..."

"I don't know," Kaede unzipped her vest and threw it on the floor, then she took off her shirt and forehead protector and threw them down on top of her jacket.

"It pisses me off. What do I tell Lady Tsunade?" Taylor wondered.

"We've got over a week to think about that, girly," Kaede promised. "You obviously need to relax. Our mission is over, girl, relax!" she grinned.

"I know," Taylor frowned. "But you're not a team captain for the first time. Daiichi and Yuri don't count, I was the only one our captain could count on to straighten them while he was sick...then he died and it just stuck for a year. And leading my dad and grandfather and great-granduncle and his grandson on a mission was different because I knew them well and they knew me well...It's really stressful to be a team captain for the first time, especially when your teammates are older than you. Haruki is 18, you're 19 and Jakobe is 20. You all have more experience than I do so it..."

"I understand," Kaede said. "No need to try and explain."

Taylor nodded and slipped out of her pale-sage vest and she put it on the floor.

"Hey, take off your shirt. I wanna rub lotion into someone's back," Kaede suggested.

"Wh-What?" Taylor looked at her. "B-But I'm about to get a shower?"

"So?" Kaede grinned. "I don't care."

"Alright..." Taylor took off her shirt and sighed.

"Lay down," Kaede ordered, pulling out cherry-blossom scented lotion while Taylor laid down on her stomach. Kaede smiled and walked over to Taylor and she stopped and kneeled over her and unclasped her bra.

"Gomen," Kaede apologized. "I don't want to get lotion on it.

"That's fine," Taylor nodded.

Kaede forced lotion out of the bottle and onto Taylor's back. Gently, she placed her hand on her back and rubbed it in.

"Oh...That actually feels good," Taylor realized.

"I'm glad," Kaede smiled. "Oh hey, are you going to see your mom?"

"What?" Taylor tried to look at Kaede.

"Are you gonna go see your mom before you go?"

Taylor let out a huff of annoyance.

"Maybe. Maybe not...why?"

"Just wondering.

"Why should I bother?" Taylor asked. "I mean, she abandoned my dad for crying out loud!"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Kaede answered. "Because deep inside, you care."

Taylor frowned.

"I'll go see her Saturday, I guess," she grumbled.

"Why Saturday?"

"My birthday," Taylor said. "I want to see if she cares about me enough to at least say 'happy birthday' to me. I don't expect anything, though."

"Oh...that makes sense. Good luck."

"Yeah..."

.

On that following Saturday, January 31, Taylor decided to visit her mother in the forest on the mountains. It was early afternoon, but that was enough time to get there, say goodby and rush on back. Taylor silently walked up the winding path of the hibernating trees and evergreens. The ground was covered in a thin frost and the sky was covered in dark and dreary clouds, indicating a possible chance of snow. The air was dry but still bitterly cold. Taylor buried her face in her turquoise scarf and shivered. Her ice-blue eyes peered up at the thin canopy of naked branches and she hoped she knew what she was doing.

It took her a good hour to get to her mother's cabin, but she got there and didn't chicken out. She wasn't about to go up the mountain for nothing. She stepped onto the porch and knocked reluctantly. She heard someone stumble, prolly her mom, and the door slip open. Her mom looked older than when Taylor saw her before back in November and she was shaking. Setsuna forced a weak smile and gestured her inside.

"I'm so glad you came," she said. "Come in, warm up some."

"Uh...okay," Taylor slipped out of her snow boots and stepped inside.

"Warm up, warm up!" her mother said loudly.

"I will," Taylor grumbled, taking off her scarf. _Yare-yare, what's up with her?_

Setsuna was having difficulty walking, but she managed to get into the kitchen without tripping. Taylor followed her awkwardly as Setsuna handed her a cup of hot cocoa.

"Drink up," she ordered. "And sit!"

Taylor obeyed and took a sip. Her mother made another glass of hot cocoa and she sat down.

"How are you?" her mother asked.

Taylor grunted in reply. She had nothing to respond with.

"I can imagine," Setsuna sighed.

"We're leaving tomorrow," Taylor said. "And I don't plan to come back.

"...That's reasonable," her mother looked down.

"...And I came to say goodbye," Taylor continued. "However pissed I am, I can't fight back a goodbye for anyone..."

"I thought you hated saying goodbye?"

"I do," Taylor sighed. "But...you're my mother and I can't hurt you like that...even if you did hurt my father like that."

"You have every right to be pissed off with me," Setsuna told her.

"And I am."

Setsuna looked down.

"Today's January 31," she said to her daughter.

"Yeah," Taylor dared not to ask if she remembered her birthday.

"I...got you something," she said. "Or four."

"What?" Taylor was surprised.

Setsuna smiled weakly and left the table without a word. Soon, she returned with a small box.

"I hope you weren't hoping to shred some wrapping paper," she joked with a weak smile. "Happy birthday."

Taylor took the box and opened it, pulling out three dolls just like her Kakashi and Sakumo ones that sat behind her bed. One was Dalzen, another was Saru and the third was Kousa. Taylor was shocked.

"Wh-What?" she stammered. "But...how? Wh-Why?"

"Sakumo told me about your misadventure into the past," she explained. "How you missed them." she sighed. "I made them smaller so you could put them on your desk," Setsuna told Taylor. "I hope you love them."

"I-I do," she stammered.

"And if you're wondering, I'm the one who made the dolls of Kakashi and Sakumo," she smiled. "Perhaps it was a strange idea but it worked and you loved them."

"I-I know."

Setsuna reached into her apron pocket. "I have something else..." she pulled out a necklace and gave it to Taylor.

"It was a moonstone that I sanded down to a crystal-like form," she explained. "It's supposed to resemble Tsunade's pendant. Sakumo told me how you liked it so I tried to remake it."

"How do you know Tsunade?" Taylor asked.

"We crossed paths here a few years ago," Setsuna smiled. "She can be sweet but you don't want to tick her off."

Taylor cracked a smile.

"That's true," she agreed.

She looked at the dolls, a few inches shorter than the dolls of Sakumo and Kakashi. Suddenly, Setsuna coughed and dropped her glass of cocoa on the floor. She looked down at the shattered glass.

"Oh dear..." she whispered.

"Mom?" Taylor wondered.

Setsuna tried to stand up.

"Taylor — I'm s-sor—" she blinked and a tear slipped down her rounded jaw. "T-T..."

Taylor stood up, "Mom? Mom, what's going on?"

"T...ay...lor..."

Setsuna would've fallen over, but Taylor caught her.

"Mom?" she asked in a worried voice, taking her over to her couch. "Mom, are you okay? Mom?"

Carefully, Taylor laid her mother down on the couch.

"Mom..." Taylor wiped her eyes. "Mom..."

Setsuna weakly grabbed Taylor's left hand.

"Don't try to bring me back," her mother whispered just as the front door opened. "Please don't..."

"Okaasan!" came a voice that soon gasped. "Okaasan!"

Taylor looked up. Standing by the couch was a man with pure-white hair and ice-blue eyes. Just like hers... He wore a black kimono — just like Tsunade's — over top a light blue shirt. He wore khaki pants and brown sandals. The man looked at Taylor.

"What's going on?" Taylor cried out.

"She's...dying..." the man answered.

"What?" Taylor looked at her mother. "So...it's time...for her to go?"

"Yeah," the man nodded. "She doesn't want to be brought back to life, please respect that.

"Tei...Mitsu..." Setsuna strained. "I love you both...Mitsuho, protect your _imouto_."

"I will, okaasan," Mitsuho promised.

Setsuna tried to hold Taylor's hand and despite her anger towards her mother, she wanted to forgive her. She just wanted to have her mom and her father. Was that just too much to ask?

"Please don't die, mom," Taylor pleaded. "Please let me take you to Dad and reunite us."

Setsuna offered a weak half-smile.

"Perhaps someday, but for now you guys can live without me..." a tear streamed down her face. "You guys have managed without me for 18 years, another 18-30 years will be okay."

Taylor bit down on her bottom teeth and tried to not cry.

"Now now, don't shed tears for me," Setsuna gasped for breath. "I'm not...worth your tears..."

"Don't die," Taylor pleaded.

"It's too...l..." Setsuna gasped again, then nothing. The life drained from her blue eyes, making them lifeless. Taylor shook her head in disbelief.

"No..." she started, then shouted, "Mom! Wake up!"

Mitsuho covered the youngest Hatake's mouth.

"Quiet," he hissed. "Don't be so loud."

Taylor looked at him, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Go get your stuff and I'll escort you back to your team," he said softly.

"Stuff?"

"The things mom made you? Didn't she give you your birthday and Christmas presents?"

"Y-Yeah," Taylor looked down and stood up. "How'd you know?"

"I watched her putting the stuff into a box this morning," Mitsuho told her. "I've been here a few days...long enough to find out that Mom killed that guy..." Taylor walked into the kitchen as he spoke, but stopped when he said the last sentence.

"Killed what guy?" she asked a leading question, just like her not biological great-granduncle would do, and she certainly felt the answer.

"Shiroi Tanuma, you know him?"

That was certainly the answer Taylor felt. She swallowed hard.

"It was my mission to find and execute him," she grumbled. "We kept it a secret trying to make sure we didn't alert him. How did she know?"

"I'll tell you later," Mitsuho said. "Just get your things and I'll take you back."

"Fine," Taylor wasn't about to argue that.

She walked back to the table, now shaking from her overwhelming emotions. She grabbed the small plushies, no bigger than an 11 oz coffee mug and the necklace her mother made. Taylor realized quickly that it may be thanks to her mother that she was artistic and creative. It certainly didn't come from Kakashi. After all, his stick figures were pretty bad.

"Let's go," Mitsuho ordered.

"R-Right," Taylor trembled.

Mitsuho took her arm and lead her out.

"Why are you taking me back?" she asked.

"I don't want you there when they get there," Mitsuho answered.

"Who?"

"The Gōmon group. They've been looking for her and us and if they find her dead and we're not here, then they'll leave."

"And go looking for us," Taylor reasoned.

"It'll take longer to find us," he said. "Here," he handed her wrappings for her eyes. "Hide your eyes."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Okay," she wrapped the wrappings over her eyes.

"They recognize us by our eyes," Mitsuho told her, leading her forward.

"I don't like hiding my eyes," Taylor groaned. "I can't see."

"You're gonna have to get used to it," Mitsuho grumbled.

Taylor bit her bottom lip in annoyance.

"I didn't like it either, but you're going to have to get used to it.

Taylor pulled her arm.

"Why should I listen to you?" she asked.

"Because I'm your brother," Mitsuho said. "Couldn't you tell?"

"Sorta..." Taylor grumbled.

They weaved through the dense forest, not really in a hurry. Silently, they walked. Suddenly, it started snowing. It was expected, after all that's what the clouds and the temperature told. A snowflake landed on Taylor's small nose and she looked up blindly, since her eyes were covered.

"What was that?" she asked in a small whisper, rubbing her nose.

Mitsuho looked up and they stopped.

"It's snowing," he realized, looking at his younger sister. "Do you like snow?"

Taylor looked at her _ani_ blindly.

"Yeah," she said.

Mitsuho smiled and allowed her to see. He lifted the wrappings from her eyes and Taylor looked. Slowly falling down were small snowflakes. She peeked up at the sky, dark with clouds.

"C'mon, we haven't got much farther to go," Mitsuho promised, pulling them back over her eyes. "_Ikou_."

He took her hand again and led her back to her team at the hotel. It was evening when they got there and supper time too. Kaede decided to get a Chinese food delivered to the room and eat in the hotel so when Taylor got back, she wouldn't wonder where the hell they were.

"You sure she likes sesame chicken?" Kaede asked Haruki.

"Yeah," Haruki nodded.

"He would know since he has a big crush on the captain," Jakobe teased.

"No!" Haruki's face grew pink. "I-I don't have a crush on Captain Taylor."

"You so do," Jakobe teased.

"Do not."

"So...do we want egg rolls?" Kaede asked.

"Two," both men answered.

"Alright, I will call the Chinese restaurant and place the order," Kaede picked up the phone and dialed up the restaurant's number, just as Taylor and Mitsuho came in. Taylor took off the wrappings over her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Captain?" Haruki wondered if she was okay.

Kaede looked up, smiled, and gave the order for their supper.

"What's up?" Haruki asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered.

Mitsuho sighed.

"You guys leave tomorrow, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Haruki answered.

"Why do you care?" Taylor asked.

"I'm coming back with you guys," he said, looking at his sister.

"Fine, whatever," Taylor sat on her bed and folded her arms under her chest.

"We'll have food in thirty minutes," Kaede said.

"Okay," everyone nodded.

Taylor stayed quiet. She just lost her mother, just when she thought she had her. All she wanted was a mother to help out her father and grandfather. She remembered when she was six, she asked Sakumo why she didn't have a mommy. _Grandpa,_ she had asked. _Why don't I have a mommy?_ The elder Hatake had looked at her. _Why do you ask?_ he had asked. _All my classmates have mommies_, Taylor had answered. Sakumo didn't know how to respond, and he had clutched his book wearily. _Your mother...died_, he had answered. _Giving birth to you._

A tear streamed down Taylor's cheek as she remembered. _ She didn't die giving birth to me_, she thought angrily. _She lived for 18 more years and died from lead poisoning. She lived those years hiding from us when Daddy could've protected her and me. _She held her face in her right hand. _Why is it me that has to go through these screwy situations? I hate it!_

"What's wrong with the captain?" Haruki asked Mitsuho

"She's..." Mitsuho sighed. "Leave her be. She'll tell in time."

"Will she be okay?" Haruki asked.

"Yeah..." Mitsuho looked at her. "In time..."

.

Early the next morning, everyone got ready and left the hotel and headed to the port. The young Hatake kept silent as they got to the dock. At that moment, she just wanted Kakashi's comfort. At least he loved her enough that he wouldn't just abandon her. He did his best to protect and love her. She knew that when she got home that she would immediately hug him and tell him about her mother, his fiancee. Although, she did not look forward to telling him about Setsuna. After all, Setsuna abandoned them and then died before Taylor could try to pull her family together. She didn't trust Kakashi enough to protect her and Taylor. So much for going to be married, right?

The journey back to the Fire was delayed to two hours, since they had to fix a few things. Taylor sat on the edge of the dock and stared down at her lap as she wrote her diary entry.

_Nichiyoubi — final day, really. We're waiting for them to finish working on the ship so we can leave. I can't wait to get home, I just want to see Daddy...him and Grandpa..._ she looked around. _I still don't know how to feel. I feel pretty sad but I also feel like I should be angry. I don't know...I also feel like I should be angry. I don't know..how should I feel, Saru? I know Dalzen would either be like, 'whatever' or he might actually be angry. I'm not sure how he felt about his parents. _She glanced up at the Yokai bay and felt a hand on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she looked up. It was her _ani_.

"What?" Taylor snapped at him, clutching her notebook.

"I bought you some onigiri," he offered her a small bag with two onigiri balls inside.

Taylor's quick fury faded into a more calm feeling.

"Th-Thank you," she took the bag and opened it.

Mitsuho stood behind her.

"Mind if I sit beside you?" he asked awkwardly.

"Whatever," Taylor shrugged.

Sighing, Mitsuho sat down beside her.

"You hate her, don't you?" he asked, taking out his bag of onigiri.

"Why do you care?" Taylor took a bite of her onigiri.

"Mm, I dunno. I just happen to care."

"I don't know," Taylor shrugged. "Should I hate her?"

"That's your choice," Mitsuho smiled. "There is no right or wrong answer."

Taylor frowned, "That's not assuring."

Mitsuho shrugged, "I dunno what to tell you."

"Did you understand her reasoning?" Taylor suddenly asked.

"For leaving? At first...no...I was only ten, all I knew was my mom was leaving. I mean, at that point I was living alone but I still wanted to see my mom on occasion."

Taylor fell silent and ate her onigiri ball.

"Mom didn't expect you to chose to be a shinobi," Mitsuho suddenly said to Taylor.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Because...you were so naïve and sensitive," he said. "Her words, not mine...although I agree."

"So?" Taylor shrugged. "You would figure I would be a shinobi since it is in my lineage."

"I know, but she didn't think those would be acceptable qualities to be a shinobi."

"Naruto was naïve," Taylor argued.

"Not as naïve as you," Mitsuho muttered.

"I used to be naïve," Taylor argued. "I'm not anymore."

"You still are," Mitsuho pointed out.

"Not as much as when I was a genin at 7."

"Okay let's not argue about it,."

"Well, you started it," she grumbled.

Mitsuho ignored her.

"You're a jounin?"

"Yeah, since before I turned 14."

"You anything like Kakashi?"

"Yes," Taylor nodded.

"Show me a move or two something, will ya?"

"What kind?"

"Lightning," Mitsuho looked down. "I want to learn some lightning jutsu. I can only do earth and wind."

"I don't know." Taylor finished her onigiri. "Maybe."

.

They were on the ship by three in the afternoon, and late that evening, when everyone went below deck, Taylor stayed. She stayed and held the necklace her mother made her and stared up at the twinkling stars. The wind gently pulled on her hair and at her occasional tear. The ship gently rocked back and forth as it cruised across the ocean. Taylor's ears listened to the sound of waves gently crashing into the ship and she listened to it like music. She stared up thoughtlessly at Orion's Belt.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and then felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her attention snapped behind her and she saw her _ani_ standing there.

"You should head to bed, get some sleep," he said softly.

"Why? Not like I'll be home tomorrow," Taylor muttered.

"You should get some sleep," he repeated. "Insufficient sleep is bad for your health."

Taylor frowned and sighed, "Fine. I'll go to bed."

She turned completely around and went to go below deck. Mitsuho looked up and sighed. _I don't blame her for being angry,_ he thought. _I would be too if I was her._

.

.


	9. The Silent Memories

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

.

.

**_Chapter Nine_**

The Silent Memories

.

.

_Despite Kakashi not being in ANBU anymore, he still ended up with long missions, and he hated it because he couldn't spend much time with Taylor like he wanted. After a three-month-long mission, he had another long mission. He barely had a week with his 2-year-old daughter before he received another mission, this time six months. When he found out, he went home to his father and his daughter and had to tell his sweet child that he was gonna be gone for six months. He didn't look forward to telling her, but he had to. Kakashi got home and Taylor greeted him with a hug._

_"Hi Daddy!" she greeted._

_Wearily, he smiled behind his indigo mask and picked her up._

_"Hello, Taylor," he greeted._

_Taylor looked at Kakashi and tilted her head in curiosity. _

_"Why sad, Daddy?" she asked._

_Kakashi sighed softly, "Daddy has another painfully long mission, sweetheart."_

_"Really?" Taylor's blue eyes looked down. "Aw...oki."_

_Kakashi stroked her soft, messy hair gently._

_"I'm sorry," he apologized._

_"Is okay," Taylor smiled and her ice-blue eyes brightened up some. "Grandpa will be here to keep me company till you get home."_

_Kakashi smiled._

_"I know he will," he said. "Hiruzen-Sama promised he wouldn't send him away."_

_Taylor hugged Kakashi._

_"I will wait for you to get home," she promised him._

_Kakashi smiled softly, "I know you will."_

.

Kakashi received a letter from Taylor on January 30, but he didn't know about it until he saw it on his desk, which was two days later. Kakashi was busy with missions, so he wasn't home to get it from Michiko, Taylor's summon, and read it. When he got home, he immediately headed into his room and saw a letter on his desk. _To: Otousan. From: Teirā. Oh, it's Taylor_, he thought tiredly. He picked it up and sat on his bed. _I hope she's okay,_ he thought, opening the letter. Kakashi read it silently by lamplight.

_Otousan,_

_I'm coming home. It'll be about four days though, depending on the weather of course. I uhm...I have to tell you something...It's nothing about me...but...I have to tell you when I get home. I can't wait to get home though. I just want things to get back to normal!_

_Aishite, Otousan!_

_-Teirā_

Kakashi looked up. _What could she possibly have to tell me that doesn't concern herself entirely?_ he wondered. _That's odd..._ He set it down on his nightstand. _I need to sleep...I'll sleep and then go take a shower when I get up in the morning._

He closed his eyes and remembered when he would come back from a mission, that she would be sitting on the couch, waiting for him.

.

_Six months had passed while the newly turned three-year-old Taylor waited patiently by helping Sakumo in the wheat fields (as much as a three-year-old could; she mainly sat on his shoulders while he worked) and she went shopping with him. Also, she started learning how to be a shinobi before she started school since three was too young, yet Sakumo wanted to give her a head start._

_The night Kakashi was coming home, Taylor wouldn't go to bed at her bedtime._

_"I wanna be awake to see Daddy!" she cried._

_"But you have to get sleep," Sakumo argued gently._

_"I don't wanna sleep!"_

_"Please, Teirā. Please go to sleep," Sakumo pleaded._

_"No!" Taylor crossed her arms. "I wanna wait for Daddy!"_

_Sakumo scratched the back of his head. _

_"Fine. But if you fall asleep, I'm not waking you up," Sakumo sighed. _

_Taylor jumped up and hugged him. _

_"Yay! Let's watch a movie!"_

_Sakumo sighed, but picked her up and he brought her back into the living room and played, Tonari no Totoro and they drank tea together. Every thirty minutes, Taylor would jump up and peek out the window to see if Kakashi was there yet. No sign of him, so she'd go and sit back down. It wasn't until about 1am that they heard footsteps on the stairs to the front porch. Sakumo looked at Taylor, so sat quietly beside him, sucking her thumbs. She looked at him.  
_

_"What?"_

_"You hear that?"_

_"What?" _

_"Sh."_

_Taylor stayed quiet and listened quietly._

_"It's a ghost," Sakumo grinned._

_"No it's not," Taylor giggled. "It's Daddy. I can tell by the sound of his footsteps."_

_Sakumo pouted, _she's definitely smart. _The doorknob turned and Taylor got ready to jump up and hug her father. The door opened and Taylor jumped up just as Kakashi stepped into the house, and she jumped on him._

_"Daddy!" she cried happily._

_Startled, Kakashi quickly looked down as she hugged him. He smiled softly._

_"Why...good morning to you as well, Teirā," he greeted, then looked at his father. "You let her stay up this late?"_

_Sakumo put his hands on top of his thighs and stood up._

_"She wouldn't go to sleep until you came home," he said apologetically, walking over to them. "Gomen."_

_Taylor let go and grinned while Kakashi studied her._

_"Did you get taller? Oh my, you did!" Kakashi sighed and hung his head._

_"Uhuh!" Taylor grinned. "Grandpa says I'm 'free'-foot-five now."_

_"Taylor, you need to work on saying 'three' instead of 'free' in pronunciation," Kakashi chuckled._

_"I thought I say that," Taylor tilted her head to the side._

_"No, you don't really," Kakashi smiled. "But c'mon, let's get you into bed."_

_"I wanna snuggle with you though," Taylor pouted. "And you read me bedtime story!"_

_Sakumo chuckled._

_"Stubborn, ain't she?"_

_"Yeah." Kakashi sighed. "Alright," he slipped his mask off from his nose and now to around his neck._

_"Yay!" Taylor grabbed his hand and tried to drag him to his room. Kakashi followed and allowed her the illusion that she was pulling him along. Sakumo watched and smiled, _for such a tough guy my son sure has a soft heart. So cute.

_Once he got ready for bed, Kakashi allowed Taylor to go snuggle with him in his bed once she had a book picked out. She came into his room and hopped up into his bed with the book._

_"You want me to read 'The Tale of the Kid Shinobi'?" he asked._

_"Uhuh," Taylor smiled._

_"Alright," he smiled and opened the book, putting his arm around his daughter. Barely fifteen pages in, Taylor had started to drift off into sleep, but Kakashi kept reading until he got to the end. Once he finished, he looked at his little girl, sleeping peacefully against him. He smiled and thought,_ She's so adorable...am I really a good enough father for her? _Kakashi didn't know, but he thought the answer was sleeping right in his arms. Apparently, she thought he was worth waiting on. _

.

Taylor sat in her cot and clutched a picture she'd gotten with Coushander when she was in his time, the second time she went. She studied it, noticing that beside her — not the side Coushander was standing and hugging her — that there was a ghostly figure, strangely resembling Saru. In fact, it was Saru. Taylor allowed herself to smile. She missed them — Coushander, Dalzen and Saru. Coushander was quiet, and was really kind which was funny considering he disliked most people. Luckily, Taylor wasn't most people. She was his great-granddaughter and occasionally seemed like him in some very strange ways. She definitely matched his intelligence. Dalzen taught her genjutsu and was also oddly kind to her. Saru taught her songs she never would've heard otherwise and he was really funny. He tried to get her to look at the brighter side of things.

Taylor sighed, _I do miss them dearly._

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door and she quickly slipped the photo under her blanket. The door opened and Taylor sat up. Mitsuho walked in and Taylor watched him.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

"I brought you some dumplings."

"Okay. But you don't have to bring me food, I can get up and get it myself," Taylor grumbled.

"How about a thank you?" Mitsuho rolled his eyes.

"_Arigatou_," Taylor sighed heavily, taking a dumpling from him.

He went to sit beside her but she quickly stopped him.

"No! Don't sit there!" she yelled.

"Why?"

She pulled out the picture she had tried to hide from her brother and quickly tried to move it out of sight again. He saw and tried to snatch the photo from her.

"Hey, lemme see it," he said.

"No!" Taylor cried as he took it out of her hands. Mitsuho held it up and Taylor stood on her knees. "Mitsuho, give it back!"

Mitsuho held it out of her reach and studied it. "Is that Kakashi? No wait, the hair is too much like Jiraiya's...But it can't be him."

Taylor started pounding on Mitsuho's chest.

"Give it back! Give it back!"

"Who is it?" Mitsuho ignored his little sister's punches.

"Mitsuho! Give it back, you jerk!"

He looked at his imouto and showed her the picture.

"Who's the man?" he asked.

Taylor stopped and panted, "My great-grandfather."

"Isn't he dead?" Mitsuho asked.

Taylor snatched her photo back.

"Yeah, but this was taken 50 years ago, technically," Taylor grumbled her answer.

"50 years ago?" Mitsuho wondered, sitting beside her.

Taylor hugged the photo, "I disappeared into the past about five years ago. One of my father's many enemies tried to get revenge and he had this...scroll...that contained a jutsu to send people into the past or future. I got the first one. I met my _hisofu_, my _idaiōoji_, my...step _hisobu_ and their friend, also in a way was my _idaiōoji. _I lived with Coushander and the ghost of his _ani, _my biological great-granduncle Saru-Shin and my other great-granduncle taught me genjutsu. I was there for about a month, almost two, then I managed to get back home."

Taylor chuckled and thought, _And Daddy didn't let me out of the house for a month!_

She shook her head, "And about three years later, Dalzen, my non-biological uncle was sent into our time. He stayed with us — I insisted — and after a month of trying to find the damn scroll again, we get him home but...I came with him, to assure that he got home. I got him home safe, after I'm nearly killed — it's a common occurrence if you haven't figured it out yet — and I went to see Kousa one last time...and Kano, my great-grandma (step...great-grandma...) came home early, before I could leave, and suggested she get a picture of Kousa and I so I could have an actual picture of us together. So that's how this happened..."

She looked down.

"I miss them sometimes," she muttered.

"Oh..." Mitsuho looked down. "I'm sorry...do you want me to bring them back from the dead?"

"No!" Taylor exclaimed quickly. "I...can't...I can't do that to them. Bringing them back to life 50-100 years from when they died would be insane..."

"Oh...true..." Mitsuho sighed.

Taylor ate some of her dumpling and sighed.

"Can you just leave me alone, Mitsuho?" she asked.

"Yeah...sorry..." he got up and walked towards the door. "You like to be alone?"

Taylor pondered that for a moment.

"Mostly..." she said cautiously.

"Introvert?"

"Yes."

"I figured as much..." he sighed and left Taylor alone.

Silently, Taylor finished eating and then studied the picture Kano took of her and Coushander (and unexpectedly, Saru) two years back. Coushander was holding her close, both were smiling (took a few tries to get Cou to actually smile) and they were in the wheat. That your, in her _hisofu_'s time, the wheat got pretty tall. At least, that's how it seemed considering some of the wheat touched his chest, and Kousa was 6'0" exactly.

Laying down on her cot, Taylor smiled and hugged the photo. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep to the gentle rocking of the ship.

.

Taylor went above deck to stare at the stars later that evening. Sitting quietly on the railing was her summon, Michiko. Gently, Taylor stroke her little owl's feathers and whispered a song to herself.

_I pirouette in the dark  
__I see the stars through me  
__Tired mechanical heart  
__Beats till the song_ _disappears_

Haruki hid behind the post holding up the giant sail and watched and listened to her sing and pet her summon. Michiko listened to it silently as well. Haruki watched Taylor, admiring the moonlight in her silver hair. _Her hair reflects the moonlight beautifully,_ he thought. Taylor continued.

_Somebody shine a light  
__I'm frozen by the fear in me  
__Somebody make me feel alive  
__And shatter me  
So cut me from the line_  
_Dizzy, spinning endlessly_  
_Somebody make me feel alive_  
_And shatter me_

Haruki blushed, _And she's got a nice voice_. Taylor sensed another presence and she turned to see who it was. Haruki quickly hid his face behind the post. Taylor frowned.

"Haruki-Kun? Is that you behind the post for the sail?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

"Why are you out here so late?" Taylor knew better than that.

Haruki peeked out.

"I-I couldn't sleep? Wh-Why are you out here so late, Captain?" he questioned cautiously.

Taylor should've seen that coming. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I like to stare at the stars," she picked Michiko up and held her gently while she turned around. "No particular reason why. I just do."

"Oh."

Taylor sighed, "Go to bed, Haruki."

"You too, Captain," he turned around and left.

Silently, she turned her head and stared at the stars.

"I suppose I should go back to bed, shouldn't I, Monkey-Heart?"

The wind rushed past her and it seemed to be saying, "Yes." Looking down, Taylor allowed Michiko to de-summon and then she went back to her quarters.

.

The next day, there were some rainstorms so the team stayed below deck, even though Taylor wanted to go above deck. Mitsuho came into her room with hot chicken soup.

"We need to talk," he told her, giving her the soup.

"Okay," Taylor didn't question it.

Mitsuho sat on the floor in front of her and ate from his bowl.

"I think there is a Gōmon spy on this ship. He's only a threat to us."

"Okay?"

"Don't leave your room until I think the problem is solved."

Taylor frowned, "Or in other words, 'don't leave my room until we make it back to the Land of Fire'. Okay. Gotcha." She rolled her eyes.

"I know you don't want to do it —"

"You can't make me," Taylor interrupted childishly.

"But you have to for your own safety," Mitsuho finished.

"My own safety?" Taylor laughed. "What safety? I am a shinobi, I am never safe. You of all people should know that."

"Humor me," Mitsuho told her.

"Mitsuho, I'm 18 and I'm a jounin. I also happen to be Kakashi Hatake's daughter...so I think I can take care of myself," Taylor told him.

"Please. Do it for me?"

"I make no promises."

"Great."

Taylor rolled her eyes, _he can't stop me from going above deck_._  
_

.

That night, Taylor went out on the top deck to see if she could draw out the Gōmon spy. She stayed quiet and waited at the bow of the ship. _If he's gonna come and get me, now is his chance._

Hyūga Daiki made his appearance to the young Hatake. She leaned back and crossed her arms and an expectant smirk formed on her lips. Daiki stopped dead in his tracks when he realize she was one of the 'healers' he was sent after.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Taylor asked.

"How do you know who I work for?" Daiki admitted in childish anger.

"Oh, I didn't have to do much thinking. Mitsuho told me and I immediately had a feeling. You don't know how to keep your gaze on a woman's eyes," Taylor answered, keeping her posture. "But when you do, you notice how nice their eyes are."

Daiki blushed but took a step backwards, then stopped himself. "I'm not afraid of a woman," he tried to assure himself. "Woman are the weaker sex."

Taylor appeared behind him instantly, like a ghost; a kunai drawn to his neck.

"Nice try," she whispered harshly. "Now go back to whatever hell you crawled out of and tell your boss that you failed your mission to bring back a healer because guess what? My skills do not lie in healing. More like injuring and killing."

"I won't!" Daiki hissed.

"That's your loss," quickly, Taylor let her kunai touch what was only smoke and then aimed the kunai in front of her. Daiki caught it and for the first time, Taylor caught his white, purple tinted eyes. Those eyes darted back at her. Daiki was about to move when Taylor made a hand sign and the kunai suddenly shocked him. The reaction allowed Taylor to move instantly, and this time Taylor held her black katana to him. "You will do as I say and go back and let your boss know that I do not heal or raise from the dead," Taylor ordered.

Daiki held her gaze and the veins around his eyes seemed to pop out as he used his byakugan and attacked Taylor with the Gentle Fist technique. He did it before Taylor could remember the technique and react. Daiki punched her and he injected a bit of his own chakra into her chakra pathway system, causing damage to some of her organs. Taylor cursed as she was knocked onto the deck. Ignoring the pain in her damaged internal organs, she swung her legs and managed to de-balance the Hyūga. Taylor sat up, holding her hand on her stomach and she winced.

Knowing he was completely screwed, Daiki grasped the railing behind him and stared the Hatake down. Suddenly, he jumped onto the railing and threw himself overboard. Taylor shook her head slowly and slowly stood up. She knew she had to talk to Mitsuho and explain what happened. _No_, she thought. _I'll go to Kaede. She won't ask as many annoying questions as he does._ Whatever organs were injured seemed to scream at Taylor to lay down, but she refused. She went below deck and went to Kaede's quarters. She knocked softly._  
_

"Kaede-Chan," she whispered. "Kaede..."

No response. Taylor knocked again — louder this time.

"Yeah?" Came Kaede's voice. "Come in."

Taylor opened the door and fell to her knees.

"Kaede, I need your help," she grunted.

"Taylor? Oh gosh, what happened to you?" Kaede rushed to her side and helped her up.

"Close the door. I don't want Mitsuho to hear," Taylor ordered as Kaede led her to her cot.

"Okay...?" Kaede made her sit down and she closed the door.

"I got into a fight with a Hyūga," Taylor answered. "He used the Gentle Fist on me. There is nothing gentle about the Gentle Fist..."

"Oh God! Where? I'll fix it."

"Somewhere in my abdomen because that's where he hit me," Taylor told her.

"Okay. I'll get on it," Kaede crouched down and used her chakra to heal Taylor. "But tell me more. What happened?"

Taylor explained the entire situation as best as she could while she got healed. When she was finished, Taylor let out an annoyed sigh.

"I should'a listened," she said. "But at least I got the Gōmon spy off the ship."

"Yeah," Kaede nodded. "That's good. I want you to rest tomorrow, okay? You got hurt badly."

"Alright," Taylor nodded.

"But, do you think you'll be safe in Konoha?" Kaede wondered.

"I'll be fine," Taylor smiled assuringly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "I'm positive."

"Alright..." Kaede sighed. "But let's get you back to your quarters."

Taylor nodded and went back to her room with Kaede's help. Taylor just hoped Mitsuho wouldn't find out about her mishap. But considering Taylor was hurt, she knew he would likely find out and say to her, 'I told you so'. She did not look forward to him finding out.

.

Mitsuho stormed into Taylor's room at 11 in the morning the next morning.

"Wake up," he ordered.

Taylor opened her eyes and looked at her brother.

"What?"

"Did you go above deck last night?"

"Hell yeah I did," Taylor answered.

"And you got into a fight with the Gōmon spy?"

"He started the fight, really," Taylor answered.

"You got hurt."

"Yeah," Taylor sat up. "But do I look at all bothered by it?"

Mitsuho frowned.

"You just don't care that if you're caught, you'll be hurt a lot worse by the entire group than just the Hyūga spy?"

"Oh I do care, I just think I can handle myself," Taylor answered. "I'm fine, Mitsuho. You don't have to be so overprotective of me."

Mitsuho folded his arms.

"Go away, Mitsuho," Taylor frowned. "I'm fine."

"Fine," he spun around and stormed off.

Jakobe, Kaede and Haruki looked at each other.

"What just happened?" Haruki asked Jakobe.

"It's called the older brother being protective of his younger sister," Jakobe answered. "I'd be the same way with my sister." He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Oh. That makes sense," Haruki said.

"Yeah..." Kaede sighed. "I'm gonna get her lunch since I don't think Mitsuho will do it."

"Okay," both men nodded.

.

The sailing part of their journey home ended the following day at around 1. Or, at least after lunch. Taylor was okay to walk back for the 5+ hours of walking she had to make without help. She walked back with her team and Mitsuho, but no one made any effort to speak. Jakobe wanted to rush home and hopefully see his sister. Haruki shyly stole glances at Taylor still. Kaede looked forward to a hot bath and Taylor looked forward to things getting back to normal — or as normal as things will ever get now that she knows that there is a group after her for the powers she lacks talent in.

She just wanted to be home with Kakashi and Sakumo. She definitely longed for some father-daughter time, and she knew Kakashi did too. They even talked about going out for supper to have some father-daughter time. Maybe walk around some. Perhaps watch a movie. Whatever they planned to do, Taylor looked forward to it.

The trip back to Konoha was quiet. No one actually spoke until the men had to relieve themselves. All three asked to go at once.

"Wow," Taylor remarked. "Fine. You all go relieve yourselves. Us ladies can wait."

The men all ran behind trees while Taylor and Kaede stared at each other.

"I swear, they're not all that smart. I told them to do it _before_ we left," Taylor chuckled.

"Idiots," Kaede giggled.

"You can say that again," Taylor sighed and shook her head. "Dummies."

When they were done, the troupe continued back to the Leaf.

.

It was after suppertime when they got to the village. Taylor made everyone go home while she turned in her mission report, which included the photos Jakobe took to prove that Tanuma Shiori was dead when they got there. She walked into the Hokage building and went up to Tsunade's office. The door was open, but Taylor knocked anyway, out of politeness.

"Come in."

Taylor walked in and Tsunade looked up.

"Teirā?"

Taylor smiled.

"Yup. I'm finally back. And here's my mission report." she handed over the mission report.

Tsunade took it and glanced at it, then glanced at Taylor, "How come he looks decomposed?"

"We found him dead..." Taylor explained. "C.O.D? Unknown. We didn't stay long enough to find out. But it could be stabbing, I mean his body was covered in stab marks..."

"I see..."

"I'm sorry we didn't find him till then," Taylor apologized. "And that we didn't execute him ourselves. I told no one about the mission," Taylor swallowed hard. "Though...it was an..._interesting_ few months...I suppose.

Tsunade nodded.

"It's okay. He had enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to kill him."

"Yeah..." Taylor looked down.

"Well, you're dismissed," Tsunade smiled.

"Thank you," Taylor bowed and left.

She was glad the Hokage didn't ask many questions. She wasn't sure if she was awake enough to answer them. Taylor sighed and walked through the village to get home. She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and she buried her face in her scarf as she walked quietly. The sky above her was dark and cloudy and the air around her was about -4° Fahrenheit. Suddenly, but slowly, it started to snow. One flake, then two, then four and so on. Soon, snow made it hard for Taylor to see, even with the yellow lantern lights hanging outside of people's homes. The light reflected off of the snow, but Taylor couldn't see past the snow. Silently, she made her way out of the village, and she only had a kilometer and a half to go before she was home.

Taylor's silence listened to the wind as she walked. The wind kicked up every few minutes and would howl a little. Taylor sighed and smiled at the thought of coming home to hot cocoa and snuggles with Kakashi. She even was gonna change in to her pjs for once. Taylor clutched the insides of her pockets as she approached her house. The porch light was turned on, and she could barely see her house. The snow started falling faster and harder, and Taylor picked up her page. It took another 7 minutes to get to the old, low, wood fence and enter through the gate. Taylor made her way through the front yard and onto the porch. She stepped onto the stairs and stepped onto the porch. Smiling, she lifted her face from her scarf and took her right hand and opened the front door.

Warmth hit her face and she breathed a relieved sigh.

She was finally home.

.

.


	10. Questions

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

.

.

**_Chapter_ Ten  
**Questions

.

.

After she took off her sandals and she closed the door behind her, she stepped inside. "Tadaima!" she called happily.

Something fell in the kitchen as Taylor undid her scarf and took it off. Without warning, Sakumo stumbled out of the kitchen and past the wall so Taylor could see him. He watched her take her backpack off and unzip her jacket. He smiled once he made the connection that his granddaughter was home. As soon as he made that connection, he threw his towel at the sink and walked towards her. Taylor took her heavy jacket off and looked up at Sakumo. She grinned and hugged him.

"Grandpa!" she cried, hugging him.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Teirā," he whispered.

They hugged and Taylor ignored how much her abdomen hurt.

"I missed you and Daddy," she told him.

"I know you did," Sakumo said. "You always miss us."

"This time was different though. I really wish you guys were there to help sort me out..." Taylor looked down.

"Sort you out?" came a low voice from the hallway. "Why?"

Taylor looked and saw Kakashi walking towards them.

"Dad!" she let go of Sakumo and ran at Kakashi and hugged him. He hugged her back and held her in his arms. "Gosh, I missed you guys!"

Kakashi smiled, glad his daughter was home.

"I missed you more," he told her.

Taylor rubbed her eyes, keeping her arms around her otousan. Her eyes were heavy with emotion, but she stayed calm. No tear made it past her eyes.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked, noticing her clutching him tightly.

"Yeah," she murmured. "I'm perfectly fine," she sniffled but she smiled. "Just glad to be home."

She let go and sat down on the couch, unconsciously hugging her sides now. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Taylor noticed her father's questioning look.

"Uh..." Taylor laughed nervously. "That look..."

"Stomach ache?" he asked.

"No, surprisingly not..." Taylor scratched the back of her head nervously. "A Hyūga hit me with gentle fist two nights ago..."

"What? A Hyūga? None of your teammates were Hyūga, right?"

Taylor shook her head, "None of them."

"Then why —"

"I'll tell you in the morning," Taylor said, rubbing her forehead. "I was walking all day, trying to deal with the pain."

"Oh..." Kakashi nodded. "I'll ask you again in the morning, then."

Taylor smiled and thought with a feeling of fatigue falling over her, _That's normal_...

"Okay," she said.

Kakashi helped her up and lead her to her room. Taylor clung to his arm and rested her eyes as he lead her forward. She opened her eyes when they walked into her room and she went and sat down on her bed.

"I'll bring you a glass of water," he told her.

"Okay," Taylor answered in a quiet voice, rubbing her eyes.

Kakashi smiled and left. He was gone only five minutes, but as soon as he came back to her room, she was laying on her side, completely out cold. The father was surprised, but then he smiled and sat the glass of water down on her nightstand. Then, he took the extra blanket at the end of her bed and draped it over her, careful to not suddenly wake her somehow. He was amazed that she fell asleep so fast. Then again, she looked exhausted from walking so much. The damage done from a Gentle Fist move usually took a week to heal, even with the help of a medic ninja. _I wonder why it happened_, he thought. _Why would a Hyūga would want to hurt her like that? Surely, it's a mistake..._ He bent down and swept her hair behind her ear and he planted a kiss on her cheek. _But, I am glad you're home, sweetheart_, he thought. He stood up and left her room.

Sakumo was back in the kitchen, washing dishes still.

"She fell asleep in the five minutes I was gone," Kakashi told him.

"Aw..."

"But...I'm curious..." Kakashi wondered. "What would a Hyūga, out village, be doing following her on a top secret mission."

"I don't know. It's a good question," Sakumo glanced over his shoulder.

Kakashi looked down, "Something doesn't seem right..."

"She'll explain in the morning," Sakumo said. "You go to bed, alright?"

"Yeah..." Kakashi rolled his eyes at his father. Kakashi was almost 40 and he still felt as if he was 7. Then again, he's living with his father. With a sigh, he bowed and left, heading to bed. He peeked into Taylor's room and wondered what in the world was going on. He had to wait till morning, but curiosity still bit at him. He shook his head, and headed to bed.

.

She woke up the next morning and took a shower. Once she was out, she dressed in her casual outfit and walked out into the living room. It was all quiet, but she knew they were in the kitchen, making breakfast. She breathed in the scent of miso and rice and she smiled. _Home sweet home_, she thought.

"Ohayo," she greeted.

Sakumo and Kakashi turned around.

"Ohayo!" they returned her greeting.

"You feeling any better?" Kakashi asked.

Taylor shrugged, "It's better, but not by much..."

"That's...good, I think."

She sat down at the table and glanced out the window. The fields looked like a winter wonderland with five to six inches of snow on the ground. Her stomach growled at her to eat, but she knew she was hungry. She rested her chin on her fist and stared out at the snow.

"So, what is it that you need to tell me?" Kakashi asked.

Taylor glanced up at him.

"Huh?"

"You said that you needed to tell me something? What is it?"

Taylor looked down and thought she'd cry.

"I...saw mom...on the island were at," she stated in a cautious voice. "She..." Taylor shook her head and pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing a scar on her throat. "I was killed on the mission two months ago, and I was found and brought back from the dead. Mom was the one to find us and heal us..."

"You don't even know your mother. She's been dead all of your life," Kakashi pointed out.

"Not really," Taylor said. "She...went into hiding after I was born because of this... 'Gōmon' group going after her — and now me — because she thought they wouldn't go after me if I was with only you and Grandpa. She also brought Grandpa back from the dead, to protect me and you."

Kakashi looked at her funny.

"She was hiding in the Ocean Country," Taylor said. "She told me everything...while she was dying of lead poisoning...she died on my birthday."

Kakashi shook his head.

"Okay, are you sure you didn't get a concussion on your mission?" he asked.

"She...speaks the truth," Sakumo admitted. "Your late fiancé rose me from the dead (with no strings attached, obviously) to protect you both while she hid. She planned on coming back when she thought it was safe."

Kakashi spun around.

"She died before she could," Taylor told him. "But she made Grandpa promise to not tell anyone that she was alive."

"You knew she was alive, Dad?" Kakashi asked in an angry voice.

"Yes..." Sakumo hung his head.

Kakashi drew his arm back, ready to hit Sakumo when, like a ghost, Taylor appeared behind him and stopped him from hitting her grandfather.

"Don't hurt Grandpa," she pleaded. "He did it to protect her for you. He never meant to hurt you, but she made him promise to not tell. He was confused at the time but he did what he thought was right."

"I"m sorry," Sakumo rubbed his eyes, feeling upset at himself.

Kakashi took in a deep breath.

"Right," he breathed out, putting his arm around Taylor and pulling her in front of him. She let go and allowed him to do so. "Well," he sighed. "I'm glad you guys told me the truth, even if it waited 18 years to be told."

"Well, I didn't know until two months ago..." Taylor grumbled.

"Yeah..." Kakashi nodded.

Taylor sighed, "So why did neither of you mention that I had a brother?"

Kakashi and Sakumo looked at each other.

"Uhm," they shrugged. "Never thought about it."

"That's nice," Taylor shook her head and sat back down at the table.

"Sorry!" Kakashi apologized.

Taylor waved him off and sat down. Silence fell upon them for a few moments while Kakashi thought.

"So, since you and Grandpa have birthdays close to each other, and you weren't here on yours, we're just going to celebrate your birthdays today," Kakashi mentioned.

"But it's the sixth," Taylor pointed out to her father.

"You get your birthday stuff late and he gets his early," Kakashi grinned.

"Alright..." Taylor sighed.

Kakashi smiled.

"So, I'm gonna get your present. The one I got you," Kakashi grinned and dashed off. Sakumo brought Taylor a bowl of hot miso and sat it down in front of her.

"Careful, it's hot," he warned.

"Okay," Taylor nodded, then commented, "Daddy is a lunatic."

"That's a given," Sakumo grinned.

Taylor giggled and watched as he came back.

"Close your eyes and hold out both of your hands," he teased her.

"Alright," Taylor sighed, doing as she was told. She closed her eyes and held out both her hands.

Kakashi put something a little on the heavy side into her hands and she opened her eyes. It was a book titled, "Blade of the Samurai". She clutched it and smiled.

"Thank you!" she thanked.

"It's nothing," Kakashi said. "I knew you were drooling over this book."

Taylor giggled, "Yes. Yes I was. I even thought about picking it up while I was there by the coast, waiting for the ship to come."

"Well, looks like you don't have to worry about buying it now," Kakashi grinned.

"Yeah really," Taylor nodded. "_Arigatou_!"

Kakashi nodded.

"I didn't get you much," Sakumo said, walking out to get his wallet. He came back and pulled out ¥9837 and handed it to his granddaughter. "Your father stole my idea, so have some cash...Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Thank you," Taylor smiled and inclined her head. "I have something for you as well."

She stood up and dashed to her room and dashed back out after a few moments. She grinned and handed Sakumo a necklace He took it and studied it. It was a pentacle just like hers, but instead of a moonstone in the middle of it, there was an amethyst. He smiled with a soft expression.

"Thank you, sweetheart, " he smiled.

Taylor smiled back, "Of course, Ojiisan." She sat back down and ate her soup.

.

Later that day, Kakashi put in their Mushi-Shi movie and he and Taylor watched it together while drinking hot cocoa. Taylor laid her head against Kakashi's chest and snuggled with him.

"I'm...confused," he stated. "Why would your mother hide from us?"

"I don't entire understand it myself, Daddy," Taylor admitted.

"I would've been glad to protect her and you," he said.

"I know..." Taylor looked at him. "I wish I truly understood her motives, but all I got out of it was that she was scared for me and felt I'd be much safer with you and Grandpa alone," she clutched the mug of hot cocoa. "But part of me still says that she was being a coward."

"Now, don't call her a coward, Taylor," Kakashi started.

"But she was. You know you want to say it too. I mean, she ran from us without saying anything. And she took advantage of Grandpa and made him promise to not tell."

Kakashi remembered five years back when she was thrown into the past, his father had told him, "The White Fang never breaks a promise." Sakumo was certainly right, he didn't break his promise to him and Taylor and Setsuna. His father felt that he had to keep his promise. After all, Sakumo Hatake was the Legendary White Fang of Konoha and he did his damndest to keep his promises. Taylor was the same way, now that Kakashi thought about it. In someways, she was the Legendary Second White Fang of Konoha.

"Yeah..." Kakashi felt conflicting emotions, but he kept quiet.

Taylor sipped on her hot cocoa and glanced back at the TV as they watched the 45-minute 'Mushishi' special episode.

"That's a cool mushi," she said. "Well...sorta."

"Yeah, sorta," Kakashi nodded in agreement. "It is a little scary though. Not sure if I'd want that here..."

Taylor nodded in agreement. Maybe a mushi that came out during a total solar eclipse and tried to hide the sun was a little on the scary side, she had to admit. But it was still interesting. She finished her hot cocoa and set the empty mug on the coffee table and kept watching the movie.

Kakashi put his arm around his daughter and held her close to him, thinking about his late fiancé. In a way, he was glad to know his fiancé lived a little longer, but at the same time he had wished she was there with him to help with Taylor. And also at the same time, he was glad his father was there with him and alive. Sakumo was definitely helpful, and he was glad to have his father back.

Taylor noticed him clutching her shoulder, but she smiled with a content expression, resting her head on Kakashi's chest.

She loved spending time with Kakashi and she especially loved snuggling with him. No matter how old she got, that would be her favorite thing to do. And she'd be damned if she had to give up snuggling with her _otousan_.

.

A day later, Taylor went out with Sakumo to run a couple of errands. Both dressed in layers. Sakumo wore a long, grey coat over top a black sweater, over top a blue turtle neck shirt. Taylor wore pretty much the same outfit but instead of the grey long coat, she wore a green heavy winter coat. Both wore snow boots that fitted over their regular sandals.

They walked to the grocery store together and Taylor held his hand, like she'd always done. Sakumo glanced at her but shrugged it off. While being quiet, they walked into the store and gathered foods that they needed. After they had what they needed from the grocery store, they headed back home to get the groceries put away and then to get a few more things. They went home, put up the groceries, and headed back out to get a few more things. They were half-way through the village when Jakobe walked up to Taylor.

"Jakobe?" she wondered in a quiet voice.

"Captain," he smiled. "Remember when I was upset about my sister dying?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"I'd come home from the mission and found my sister alive and well..." he smiled.

"H-How? I thought it was terminal?" Taylor was surprised.

"Supposedly, a few weeks in December, your brother came and healed my sister and saved her live."

"What?" Taylor gasped. "He did?"

"Yeah," Jakobe grinned. "So my sister is okay now."

"Th-That's good, Jakobe," Taylor smiled.

"Thank your brother for me, please," he asked.

"I-I don't know where he lives though," Taylor stammered.

"He doesn't live with you?"

"No, he doesn't," Taylor answered.

"That's odd. Alright, I suppose I'll find him," Jakobe shrugged.

"Go spend time with your sister," Taylor ordered. "Show her the love she deserves."

"I will," Jakobe grinned, bowed and then left.

Sakumo looked at her.

"Teammate," she said.

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

Taylor sighed and they continued towards the art store. They were quiet for the rest of the time they were out.

.

.


	11. I Smell Tribble

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

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.

**_Chapter Eleven  
_**I Smell Tribble

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.

Weeks passed as Taylor's life went back to normal, or as normal as possible. On occasion, she found herself in the Intel Ward, researching the Gōmon group. She wanted to know more about the group so she could evade their tactics better than her first encounter with a Gōmon man. A few weeks passed from her return when Haruki gathered up the courage to ask her out. Taylor was walking through the village, having completed the simple task of bringing Tora the Cat home to his owner when Haruki gathered up the nerves to walk up to her. She glanced up at him and blushed a little as he approached her. The sandy-haired man walked up to her and forced a timid smile to his pale face.

"Konnichiwa, Captain," he greeted quietly.

"Konnichiwa," Taylor returned the greeting. "Haruki, I haven't seen you in awhile. What's up?"

"I-I thought...th-that...we should, uhm, hang out sometime? Perhaps get lunch someday?"

Taylor blushed, but nodded, "Th-That sounds good," she said. "I-I would like to."

Haruki looked shocked, "R-Really?"

"Y-Yeah," Taylor nodded.

"Great," Haruki smiled. "Well...how about tomorrow? I'm rather busy today."

"Th-That's fine," Taylor nodded.

"Great. Well...I should go," Haruki told her.

"Okay," Taylor nodded. "S-See ya."

Haruki bowed and left, and Taylor headed into the Intel Ward, interested in the research she was doing. Taylor took out her card and swiped it in a panel, then taking a path to the research center and she continued her research in a light blue spiral-bound notebook. First, she glanced over her notes that she'd started.

_Notes on Gōmon_, she read. _G__ōmon started to organize forty years ago after the Kobayashi Clan refused to bring people back to life after bringing back three serial killers who had the death penalty. The group is hidden in the mountains in the mostly desert country of the Wind, just north of Sunagakure._

_Leader is Gōmon Akemi_

_Most of the Gōmon group come from areas of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Some even have Kekkai Genkai like byakugan._

Taylor started looking up articles on the things that the Gōmon group have done to both women and men of the Kobayashi Clan. She titled a clean page "Gōmon M.O."

She read the articles and wrote down what they did. _Rape, water-boarding, execution, torture. _All just because they wanted their victims to resurrect someone from the dead. Taylor shook her head with disgust. _These guys are vicious for no reason, _she thought. _Why do they care so much about getting someone resurrected?__  
_

She didn't know and probably didn't want to know.

Out of nowhere, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, startled. Then, she turned her head and looked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you, Ibiki," she grumbled.

Morino Ibiki gave her a grin.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Research," Taylor grumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

He crouched down beside her and looked at the screen.

"On the Gōmon group? Why?" he looked at her questioningly.

"My mom was a Kobayashi and she told me about it," she explained. "They were after her and my brother, Mitsuho. They didn't know about me until one of them saw me on a ship going home."

"Wait, you have that gift? L-Like everyone in the Kobayashi Clan has?" Ibiki asked.

"Supposedly," Taylor shrugged. "I wouldn't know how to use it though. I'm told the best way to tell if one has the Kekkai Genkai of sorts, is to look at our eyes. We have unnaturally ice blue eyes."

Ibiki looked at Taylor's eyes.

"...They are rather cold," he noted.

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "But I'm researching the group so I can evade them if I ever come into contact with them again."

"I see..." Ibiki nodded. "Good luck with that, Taylor."

He stood up and patted her head.

"Ibiki-San," Taylor looked up at the tall man.

He looked down at the girl, "Yes?"

"Do you miss your grandfather sometimes?" she asked. "Or wish you had more time with him?"

Ibiki looked up, "Yeah...a little...but I understand that this isn't his timeline."

"I kinda miss him too," Taylor admitted. "Him and my great-grandfather and my great-granduncle..."

Ibiki nodded, "I understand..." He smiled. "Oh, do you want to do some interrogating?"

Taylor pondered it.

"I don't know. I'm not intimidating enough," she answered.

"What if I'm there?" he asked. "I could easily teach you to be intimidating."

Taylor smiled, "Sure, that could be interesting. I'll just watch and learn."

"Okay."

Taylor gathered up her stuff and left the computer, unaware that what she was looking at was still up. She followed Ibiki into the interrogations room, only to be surprised by who they were interrogating. Ibiki was interrogating the Hyūga Taylor encountered on the ship back home. She walked in and gasped in surprise when she saw the Hyūga on the other side of the table. Ibiki looked at her quickly and mouthed, "It's okay."

She shook her head, trying to act like she was okay. Ibiki closed the door behind him and walked over to the table and took a seat. Taylor stood beside him and watched as he interrogated. He whipped out a file from his coat and he opened it up.

"Hyūga Daiki," he started, reading over the file. "You have quite a record for a young man. Your family must be disappointed in you, since you are a Hyūga. Ashamed, even."

Ibiki handed the file to Taylor so she'd know what was going on. She took it and read it to herself.

"Assault of an officer," Ibiki said, hunching over in an imposing manner. He laced his fingers together and Taylor glanced up. "Hatake Taylor. Does the name ring a bell?"

Taylor covered her mouth. This case was about the assault a few weeks back?

"Shit," she whispered.

"Hm...Isn't she the lady standing behind you?" Daiki asked.

"Yes," Ibiki nodded.

"She isn't much of a lady," Daiki gave a crooked grin and Taylor bit her tongue. "With that outfit and that hairstyle and posture...perhaps she is a he..."

"I can assure you that she is a she," Ibiki muttered his response, defending Taylor.

"Yeah?" Daiki asked. "Lemme see proof."

"Can I hit him?" Taylor asked.

"Not yet..." Ibiki answered in a soft voice. "Hyūga Daiki, you do understand that what you said can be taken as sexual harassment, right?"

Taylor self-consciously covered her chest, barely visible unless looked at closely, with her arms.

"Cover on, let's see your breasts," Daiki grinned.

"Do you not have respect for women?!" Taylor hissed.

"Unless you show me, how else do I know what you are?"

"By the way my face and hands look?" Taylor grumbled. "My voice?"

Ibiki cleared his throat and pushed Taylor back and held his arm in front of her.

"You are aware that we can write you up for sexual harassment?" he asked Daiki again.

"Whatever. With my record, I'm already going to jail," Daiki grumbled. "And because I have — quote unquote — 'assaulted' and now 'sexually harassing' your officer."

Ibiki clenched his jaw and Taylor gathered up some courage to ask a few questions, but before she could ask, Ibiki continued the interrogation.

"Where were you the night of February 3?" Ibiki asked.

"On a ship back to the Leaf. Below deck," Daiki lied.

"Try again," Ibiki asked. "That was a lie."

"Okay, above deck," Daiki admitted.

"So, did you see Miss Hatake there?"

"Yeah," Daiki nodded.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing! The bitch just attacked me!"

Taylor's breath caught in her throat and her heart raced._ Idiot, I didn't attack you. I just threatened you once I knew who you were. There's a difference._

"Who do you work for?" Ibiki asked the leading question that Taylor knew the answer to.

"I work for Gōmon," Daiki answered. "And they'll catch you, Hatake! You better be willing to bring people to life or heal 'em!"

Taylor opened her mouth, but closed it again to keep herself from getting into trouble.

"What do they want with her?" Ibiki asked, trying to stay calm.

"I just said to bring someone to life or heal them," Daiki said.

"Why?" Ibiki pressed.

Daiki froze. He was never told why.

"You don't know, do you?" Taylor asked. "A sheep following blindly, if I can say it."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow, wondering the same thing.

"N...No," Daiki shook his head.

Taylor put her face in her hands. Ibiki looked down and he stood up.

"That's all for now. Let's go, Taylor," he pushed the chair in and they walked out of the room, Ibiki locking the door behind him.

"You did well, holding your tongue," he praised her. "Good job."

"Who told Intel about the incident on the ship?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know. You'd have to asked Inoichi," he told her.

"Ask Inoichi what?" came a voice.

Both Taylor and Ibiki turned around and saw Yamanaka Inoichi walking towards them with his arms, behind his back. Taylor stood straight in a pose that she remembered much like her great-grandfather's pose when he was serious. She held her arms behind her back and watched as he walked up to her. Inoichi inclined his head and both Taylor and Ibiki did the same and then Inoichi glanced down at Taylor.

"What would you like to ask me?" he asked with a gentle smile aimed at her.

"I uhm..."

"She wants to know who made the report about the incident on the ship home from her secret (not much of a secret anymore) mission," Ibiki asked for her.

"Well, Kobayashi Mitsuho made the report and your teammate, Mizushima Kaede gave the details of your injuries and everything you told her," Inoichi explained. "Why?"

"My brother? I knew it," Taylor frowned and shook her head. "Damned fool...always getting into my business."

"You should prolly go home," Inoichi suggested. "It's almost 3."

Taylor sighed, "I should, shouldn't I?"

"Yes," Ibiki nodded. "We'll see you later, alright."

"Of course..." Taylor bowed and left.

.

Taylor spent the next few days sitting in on interrogations and afterwards, would go eat lunch with Haruki and getting to know him a little better. They sat together in Ichiraku's during Taylor's lunch break and talked.

"S-So you said you'd like me to make you a new bookcase?" he asked her a few afternoons after that day being in the interrogation room, watching Ibiki interrogate the Hyūga.

"Huh? W-When did I ask?"

"The first night on the ship to the country," Haruki reminded.

"Oh...right..." she smiled. "That would be nice."

"What size and kind of wood?" he asked.

"Uhm," Taylor looked up. "Bamboo for wood but for size?" she looked back at him. "You've seen bookcases with separate compartments like little cubes for x amount of books?"

"Uh...yeah," Haruki nodded.

"A 3x3 would be cool," she grinned. "But...I don't need it right now...I-It was a bit of a joke, really." A bead of sweat slid down her cheek. "Not to sound mean!" she added quickly. "I-I didn't mean to come off mean, it's just I wanted to know if I could count on you to make me another bookcase if I needed it."

Haruki smiled, "I-It's okay, Captain."

"Please, don't call me 'captain'," she sighed.

"Sorry," Haruki bit back a smile. "Habit."

Taylor looked down awkwardly and she sighed, sipping the ramen broth.

"Well, I should head back to Intel," she murmured. "Ibiki is trying to show me how to be more intimidating than I am," she grinned. "For interrogations, of course."

"Yeah, of course," Haruki nodded. "I'll uh, see you later."

Taylor stood up and bowed to Haruki and the ramen shop owner, then she left. She went into the Intel ward, clocked in and headed into the interrogations unit. She waited for Ibiki, but there was no sign of him. _Weird, where is he?_ she thought.

Suddenly, she heard shouting way down the hall. It wasn't Ibiki, but she wanted to know what the ruckus was. She left the interrogations unit and as quiet as a mouse, she made her way down the hall.

"Bomb!" a chūnin shouted.

"We need to evacuate," she heard Inoichi shout, but he sounded much calmer than the idiot chūnin that kept shouting, 'bomb'.

Taylor had no idea what was going on, so she walked up to Inoichi and asked.

"Inoichi-San, what's going on?" she asked.

"Taylor," Inoichi gasped. "Where's Ibiki?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I was waiting for him and then I heard shouting. What's going on?"

"A bomb was planted outside the Intel Ward. We're lucky someone caught it when they did."

"I'm going to find Ibiki then," Taylor said.

"But you've got like three minutes!"

"I will spend two minutes at least trying to find him. If I don't find him in two minutes, I will rush out," Taylor said, turning around. "I don't want Ibiki to get hurt."

"I don't want you to get hurt if Ibiki isn't here."

"I'll be fine," Taylor gave him a thumbs up and dashed off. Inoichi sighed, _You better make it out in time. _

Taylor ran as fast as she possibly could and tried to find Ibiki.

"Ibiki!" she shouted. "Ibiki!" _Dalzen_, she thought. _Please help me find your grandson. _

She went down the halls. She had a minute and thirty seconds to find him.

"Ibiki!" she shouted as loud as she could.

Even a few months after her vocal cords were cut and now mostly healed, she still had issues shouting. She stopped and put both of her hands on her throat. _Goddess, not now... _she thought. _Gosh my throat hurts so bad after I shouted like that. _She looked at the clock on the wall. She had to get out of there now! _Ibiki, please tell me you left without signing out by accident. Please don't get hurt. _Taylor started running back to Inoichi. Most everyone was out of the building now, and Taylor was pretty much the only person who had to get out now. _Why is this happening so fast?! So sudden!_ she thought. _I don't even fully know why there's a bomb outside Intel! _Before she even got to the doors, the bomb went off and blew the windows in and decimated the doors themselves. Taylor covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly, but it was too late and one ear had started bleeding. Taylor stumbled backwards and instead of falling against a wall, her knees gave in and she fell to the floor. She opened her eyes and brought her hands back down to her side. She had the look of a deer in headlights, and no matter how many times she commanded herself to stand up, her legs made no movement and her ears were ringing badly.

Taylor was too shocked to move, frozen in place by fear. This was serious, and Taylor knew it.

.

Inoichi looked up when the explosion was over and then he looked around.

"Where's Taylor and Ibiki?" he shouted over the commotion.

Everyone shrugged. No one saw them come out of the building. Inoichi looked at the front of the building at the damage and he shook his head.

"I'm going in," he said with determination.

"But there's a fire," a chūnin pointed out.

"I don't care," he said. "She's Kakashi's daughter and I'm a father of a girl myself and I would want him to do the same for me."

Inoichi went in to find Taylor, which wasn't all that hard since she was near the doors. He saw her as soon as he walked in and he rushed to her side. She was still sitting on the floor, blood dripping from her left ear and the blood splattered on her green vest and dribbled down the side of her face down on the side of her neck. And he noticed a piece of glass sticking into her stomach with blood coming out. Was she really that shocked? She was definitely easy to scare, but Inoichi had never seen her _this_ shocked before. He crouched down in front of her and tried to get her attention.

"Taylor?" he asked her in a gentle tone. "Are you okay?"

She heard Inoichi and she made herself look up at him. She trembled, but she had no idea why or how to stop it. She swallowed hard.

"I-I think I'm okay," she said, unaware of her ear bleeding and the glass stuck in her stomach.

"You're bleeding a lot," he said. "I'm gonna take you out and get you to a medic, okay?"

Taylor looked him in his eyes and nodded.

"Of course..."

Inoichi tried to stand Taylor up, being careful to not hurt hurt. He stood her up and he held her up on her feet, leading her outside. Out of nowhere, they saw Ibiki running towards them. Inoichi looked at Ibiki.

"And where were you, Ibiki?!"

"Chasing down...the damn suspect," he grumbled his answer.

"You let him escape?"

"Wasn't me," Ibiki defended himself. "One of the chūnin who worked for us."

"What?" Inoichi was surprised.

"Yeah. Now what in the hell happened here?" Ibiki asked.

"Bomb. Taylor went in looking for you, thinking she could find you quickly before it went off," Inoichi explained. "I don't know but I think she might be..._traumatized_ by the event."_  
_

Ibiki looked at Taylor.

"Shit, I am so sorry," he apologized. "But I couldn't let the suspect go and I had no idea that there was a _bomb_ outside."

"Don't worry about it right now, just get her to a medic. I need to see who else was hurt."

"Okay," Ibiki nodded and took Taylor and helped her walk. She was still trembling and Ibiki couldn't really blame her for being a bit scared. Not all shinobi could easily deal with the trauma of an explosion. He walked her over to Tsunade, rushing to the scene.

"What happened?" she asked quickly.

"We were bombed," Ibiki said. "Taylor got hurt trying to find me."

"I'll deal with her first then," Tsunade said. "Looks like her ear was damaged. Just set her against the wall."

"Oka," Ibiki sat her down against the wall.

Taylor stayed completely quiet. No words came to mind so she could speak, so nothing left her mouth. Tsunade crouched down and went to pull out the glass.

"This'll hurt," she warned.

Taylor nodded and Tsunade pulled out the glass and Ibiki glanced around.

"Should I go get Kakashi and Sakumo?" he asked, looking at Taylor.

"Yes," Tsunade nodded. "Let them take her home once I'm done." She pulled out the glass and in a normal situation, Taylor would've winced and maybe say 'ow' but she didn't. She said nothing.

"You're so quiet," Tsunade murmured as Ibiki disappeared like a ghost. She listed Taylor's face up to look at her eyes. "Must be traumatized. That's understandable given the circumstances."

Tsunade unzipped Taylor's jacket and pulled her shirt up to her chest and sighed, "It's not bleeding too bad but I'll have Kaede stitch it up for you. We need to save our chakra for the more seriously injured folks. Not a lot of medics are available today, unfortunately."

Taylor nodded.

"So, Taylor...talk to me," Tsunade ordered. "You okay? Can you feel the pain...? Anything?"

"...I'm not sure," Taylor managed to say, finally snapping out of her dazed state.

"Your ear is bleeding..." Tsunade said.

"...I've got...another one," Taylor tried to make a joke.

Tsunade moved her hands to her ear and tried to heal it. There was no way to stitch it up, since it was her inner ear. "You were too close. I think you will have permanent damage in this ear."

Taylor shrugged and Tsunade looked down at the first wound and took Taylor's jacket off and balled it up and held it on the wound, "Keep pressure here to stop the bleeding, okay?"

Taylor nodded and held pressure on her wound with her jacket.

"Thank you for sitting still, Taylor," she thanked.

Taylor nodded and Tsunade waited for Kaede to get there to stitch up Taylor. Once Kaede rushed to the scene, Tsunade stood up.

"Give her some stitches," Tsunade ordered. "Right under where she's keeping pressure with her jacket."

"Okay," Kaede nodded and crouched down, pulling out a kit to stitch her up, "Hey girly. It's been awhile."

Tsunade left them alone.

"So, I need to stitch you under there? May I see it?"

Taylor nodded and took pressure off her wound.

"Okay," she took out a needle and started stitching. "What were you doing?"

"...Trying to...find...Ibiki," she groaned as her brain started to make sense of the signals that were being sent in her mind.

"Oh," Kaede nodded.

They fell silent until Kakashi and Sakumo came to the scene. Kaede finished sewing Taylor up and then looked up.

"Taylor?!" came Kakashi's voice. "Taylor?!"

She looked up, unsure if she heard her name or not. She then saw Kakashi and Sakumo running at her. They both stopped when they got to her.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked.

Taylor looked up at him and whispered, "I'm fine, Daddy..."

"She's not okay," Tsunade corrected, walking up to him. "She might have permanent damage in her left ear because she was too close and I think she has a concussion."

"What happened?"

"Someone planted a bomb at Intel," Tsunade said. "I want you guys to take her home and make her rest?"

"How long?" Sakumo asked.

"At least a week," Tsunade answered. "If you have to, slip her a sleeping pill or two so she rests like she has to."

"Of course," Kakashi nodded.

"I just don't want her being injured and likely to have a panic attack in front of people," Tsunade said.

"Yeah, that's fine," Kakashi nodded.

He glanced down at his daughter, who was sat still and stared off into space.

"Taylor-chan, please hang in there," Kaede pleaded.

"Give me updates on the situation," Taylor ordered.

"Of course," Kaede nodded. "I will." She stood up. "You need rest though, doctor's orders."

Taylor willed herself to stand up."

"Don't stand up!" Kaede exclaimed. "What are you?! Crazy?"

"No..." Taylor's cold eyes peered at her friend and behind those eyes memories of her great-grandfather and great-granduncle played. "I am a..._l__unatic_."

"Let your dad carry you home," Tsunade ordered. "You'll less likely trip over your own feet and cause more injuries."

Taylor looked at her father who, for once, looked extremely worried about her. She sighed and nodded, "Yeah..."

Kakashi bent down and allowed her to climb onto his back. Taylor did so and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do yourself a favor and rest," Tsunade ordered. "And it's not a suggestion."

"Yes...ma'am..." Taylor nodded. "I will..."

"Good," Tsunade smiled. "Good luck," she whispered to Kakashi.

"Yeah...thanks..." he sighed.

Taylor put her arms around Kakashi and tried to calm down her mind. Kakashi walked away and like ghosts, he and Sakumo disappeared and reappeared at the house.

"Let's get you into bed," Kakashi told Taylor.

"Yes, Dad..." she grumbled. Taylor bit her bottom lip and really wished the ringing in her ears would stop.

Kakashi took her inside and took her to her room and laid her down on her bed. Taylor pulled her blankets over her body and Kakashi sighed softly.

"You need anything?" he asked in a gentle voice, touching her cheek with the back of his hand.

Taylor shook her head. She still had water in the glass beside her be.

"Okay," Kakashi nodded. "If you do, you know what to do..."

Taylor nodded.

"Rest," he ordered. "With what happened today, you should give your mind a rest, okay?"

"Yes...Daddy..." she acknowledged.

"Good girl," he bent down and kissed her cheek. "I'll bring you supper later."

"Okay."

The father looked at her with a soft expression and then walked out of her room. He thought about how she was attacked on the ship home, and how she mentioned the group that was after Setsuna, and now their daughter. The Hyūga was part of that group. Was there a connection between the attack on his daughter and the incident at Intel, the place she worked when she wasn't on missions? It certainly wasn't a coincidence that these two events happened to his daughter.

Kakashi knew he'd find out soon, but it still was a little disconcerting to have his daughter hurt like this. What did she do to deserve her left eardrum being damaged or a piece of glass embedded in her side? Like any father, Kakashi demanded answers for why his child was hurt. And if he had to kill for the answers, he would do so.

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	12. Demand Answers

**Taylor**

**テイラー**

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_**Chapter Twelve**_  
Demand Answers

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Taylor spend a few days in bed, mainly so she couldn't hurt herself. Kaede came over with Haruki and Jakobe and gave her updates of what they could.

"Casualties?" Taylor asked.

"Five. Two jounin and three chūnin," Kaede answered. "Twenty injured, including you. You're so lucky you didn't have to be sent to the hospital!"

Taylor straightened her posture a little to make her back stop hurting.

"Damn," she said.

"They have a suspect in custody and the Hyūga as well, since he got out of custody thanks to the help of the suspect that planted the bomb," Kaede told her.

"His name is Kuroi Aoki," Jakobe added. "He was a Konoha chūnin working for the Intel Ward. Well, he's an undercover Suna chūnin. But in all actuality, he works with the Gōmon group..."

"The Gōmon leader, Gōmon Akemi, gave the orders to try and kill you," Haruki said. "Once we find out more from the guys in custody, Tsunade will set up a mission."

"I better be the leader of that mission," Taylor placed both hands on her hips.

"We'll ask if we can be the team heading that way, with you," Jakobe promised.

"We better," Taylor grumbled. _I'm not gonna hide from them. I will face whoever wants me, not cower at home and pretend nothing happened. My job is to protect my village. Anyone who tries to attack my village, I will fight back._

"Alright..." Kaede sighed. "But keep resting, okay girly?"

"Yeah, yeah," Taylor sighed, scratching behind her ear. "Well, you three should go back to continue fixing the damage at Intel, okay?"

"We will," the team promised.

"Good. Now get going," Taylor ordered with a smile.

"Of course," the team bowed to their captain and left. Once they left, Taylor got up from her bed and slipped into her casual shirt, from her undershirt. He casual shirt had patches of different shades of blue sewn on but the shirt itself was indigo. Taylor lightly touchered her left ear. She could hardly hear from that ear still and it drove her nuts listening to the ringing. She sighed and stumbled out of her room. Taylor walked out to the living room and found her sandals, so she grabbed them and slipped her small feet into their respective sandal.

Sakumo looked up from his book and looked at his granddaughter.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked. "_Resting_?"

"I'm fine, I'm just going out to watch the wheat," she grumbled.

"It's only April, sweetheart. "They aren't tall enough to even consider watching in the wind."

"I don't care," Taylor shrugged.

"You're going out there to walk," Sakumo realized.

"Yeah, obviously..." Taylor sighed.

"You better be careful."

"I will," Taylor sighed, walking into the kitchen and opening the back door.

"Taylor..." Sakumo stood up and joined her. "Mind if I talk with you?"

"I...suppose," she shrugged.

Sakumo followed her out the back door and they walked down the porch steps and walked into the fields. They walked in silence, until Sakumo had his thoughts put together. Taylor rubbed her throat and stared at her feet.

"Taylor..." Sakumo looked down at her.

She glanced up at him, "Yes...?"

"I want to say, first, that I am proud of you for resting like you did. I'm glad you did that," he sighed. "And I'm also proud of you for not..." he tried to think of the word, but he couldn't find it. "Being...like how you usually are. Overly emotional? I mean, at first you had a deer in the headlights look, as described by Inoichi, but that's acceptable considering you'd never been in an explosion before. It's a little scary, I admit. I've been in a few in my time as a shinobi, and I think my first one I nearly pissed myself."

Taylor giggled a little, "Really?"

"Yes," Sakumo chuckled. "But you know, I was about ten-ish."

Taylor remembered accidentally meeting Sakumo as an eight-year-old boy. That was the only way for her to imagine him at ten. She giggled.

"Fortunately, I didn't lose my hearing in it," he told her.

"That makes me feel so good," Taylor grumbled.

"Oh! Do you still have ringing in that ear?" Sakumo asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, I still do," Taylor sighed.

"I'd give it a few more days, then you shouldn't hear it anymore," Sakumo assured.

"And prolly won't be able to hear again from that ear. Not much, anyway..." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sakumo apologized.

"Meh, not your fault," she sighed. "Mine for trying to go and find Ibiki before it went off...I knew damn well I didn't have enough time."

Sakumo nodded.

"So uhm...I heard your conversation with your team about a mission. So, when Tsunade makes it a mission to find the group and defeat them, you really want to be the one leading the group?"

"Yes. I do."

Sakumo looked at his granddaughter.

"Are you sure about that? You tend to get close to cases like this, especially since it involves you."

"I won't this time."

"But it involves you," Sakumo reminded.

"I won't get too close and I won't let myself become attached to this case. I want to defend my village since we were attacked in a way."

"Alright...but Tsunade might say otherwise. But for now, rest. The mission is prolly a little ways away from now."

"Alright..." Taylor nodded. "I'll try."

"Good," Sakumo smiled.

.

A few week passed, while Taylor trained with Kakashi in a slightly different way so she could understand him better. Talking in his usual, quiet voice was out of the question unless he was very close to her or talking in her ear.

"If you are under the command of someone who is unaware that you are half-deaf, you must warn them. Obviously you can still hear, but not very well from your left ear," Kakashi told her in a tone she could hear. "You've been learning how to deal with it."

Taylor nodded.

"And you've been doing very well," he added. "And I'm very proud of you."

Taylor smiled and nodded.

"Now..." he looked down. "Tsunade asked if you still want to be a shinobi, even though you are partially deaf."

"Yes," Taylor answered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Dad. I am pretty sure," she grinned.

"Good," he smiled. "I'm glad."

"Does she not believe you when you say that I'm perfectly capable of still being a shinobi?" Taylor asked.

"She doesn't want my opinion, Taylor. She wants yours. You are an adult now, Taylor. If you were ten, I would've made the decision for you and you wouldn't have liked it," Kakashi told her. "I can't make the decisions for you anymore, _koibito._"

"...Oh," Taylor looked down.

"But, don't forget that I am still your father and if I think you need to rest, I won't hesitate in making you rest," he grinned.

Taylor giggled, "Okay."

Kakashi put his arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Let's go tell Tsunade that you will continue to be the fine shinobi you are, and then we'll get a treat, okay?"

"Yeah!" Taylor nodded quickly.

.

They found Tsunade in her office, which was normal. But that day, they found a team in there so they waited till the team was dismissed to go in. They left after about five minutes and they went on their mission, whatever it was. Tsunade smiled at the team and looked up at Kakashi and Taylor.

"Huh?"

"We have good news, Lady Tsunade," Kakashi smiled.

"I have no intentions of quitting being a shinobi," Taylor smiled. "Being half-deaf is not about to stop me."

Tsunade smiled, "I'm glad to hear that, Taylor."

She smiled, "And I'm gonna work hard to be the best in this village because who knows when my dad is gonna retire."

Kakashi fake coughed, "Not anytime soon, I would hope."

Tsunade looked at him, "I would hope not either, Kakashi. You are still one of my best shinobi. You and Taylor both." She glanced at Taylor. "And would you like a mission today?"

"Oh...well, thanks for the offer but after beating up my father, I'm done for the day. Perhaps tomorrow," Taylor smiled.

"Alright, well then. You two have a good day," Tsunade smiled.

"Thank you," both Hatake thanked. "You too." They bowed and walked out together.

On the way home, Kakashi bought her a vanilla ice cream cone and took her home.

"You didn't beat me up," Kakashi said. "You just kicked me in the wrong spot...twice..."

"And that was all you could handle," Taylor teased, licking the the ice cream.

"Well, I'm a guy," he muttered.

"And I'm a girl. What's your point?" Taylor already knew the answer, but she felt like teasing him.

"I have something there that you don't," he said. "Making it more painful to me than if I'd kicked you there."

"Hm." Taylor looked around.

Kakashi looked at his daughter and smiled behind his mask. She reminded him of Setsuna sometimes. He remembered their occasional spars, but he had always allowed her to win. He didn't have to let Taylor win, although to some people it would seem to them that he did let her win. But really, she won without him letting her.

He smiled again. If she kept this up, he might as well retire. For now, he hand no intentions of that.

.

The next day, Taylor took on a d-rank mission. Meanwhile Tsunade briefed her father.

"Kakashi, I want you to lead a team to the mountains in northwestern Suna," she said.

"Uhm...okay," he nodded. "For what?"

"The group that is trying to get your daughter and stepson. That's their headquarters," she handed him a file. "You are to take out their leader, Gōmon Akemi. Her ninja are like sheep, so take out the leader and they pretty much have no reason to stay."

"Why did you chose me to do it and not Taylor? She knows how to evade their tactics better, since she's been doing the research on them," Kakashi asked, then quickly added, "I-If I may, Lady Tsunade."

"She'll get too close to this case," Lady Tsunade bluntly answered.

"What makes you think I won't get too close to this case?" he asked. "After all, it involves my daughter."

"Because, Kakashi, you know better than that," she said. "You know how to push your feelings aside."

Kakashi remained silent. Arguing will get him nowhere with this.

"Do you accept this mission, Kakashi?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked.

Tsunade fell silent. That was most likely a 'yes'.

"I suppose I can do it," Kakashi said.

"No Taylor. Do not bring her."

"Yes ma'am."

"You are dismissed. You gather a team and start your mission."

"Yes ma'am." he took the file on the mission and walked out of the office.

He saw Taylor walking into town, holding a cat in her arms and talking to it.

"Hi there little kitty," she said in a childish voice. "You're a cutie. I bet your owner misses you. Let's get you back to her, okay?"

The cat licked her cheek and she giggled. "Aww...you're so sweet. I wish I had a kitty...I love cats."

Kakashi heard that. He never knew his daughter wanted a cat. He'd never even considered getting her a pet, not in the 18 years she'd been alive. Not once did he consider it. Then again, he might've thought Michiko, her owl summon, was her pet.

"Teirā!" he called.

She looked up.

"Otousan?"

He walked over to her and she clutched the cat, trying to make sure it wouldn't run off with Kakashi's presence.

"I'm gonna be gone for probably a while. A month or two," he told her.

"Why? What's the mission, if I'm allowed to ask."

"You'll be pissed if I tell you."

"Tell me!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Fine," Kakashi gave in. (Children can do that sometimes). "The mission to take out and/or arrest the Gōmon leader."

"But I thought I'd be able to go on that one," she whined.

"I'm sorry."

The cat started to purr but Taylor took no notice.

"That's unfair..." she sighed.

"I'm sorry," Kakashi apologized again.

Taylor held the cat still.

"I'll see you when you get back then," she said, looking down.

Kakashi sighed.

"I love you, _koibito_."

"I love you too, _otousan_," she sighed dejectedly, hoping she could make him give in and take her. But that wasn't gonna happen.

He walked away and gathered teammates, and Taylor hugged the cat.

"I wonder if I should follow him," she murmured.

The cat meowed its answer.

"Maybe..." she sighed and got the cat to its owner and she turned in the mission report and kept thinking about following her father. She'd done it once, over a decade ago, but she was five and she nearly died on that mission. But the thought of following him again lingered in her mind. She went home and gathered her things and Sakumo stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Follow Dad," she grumbled, trying to go past him.

Sakumo held his arm in front of her and held her back.

"You shouldn't," he warned her.

"So what? What will you do?" she asked defiantly.

"Taylor," Sakumo started as she brushed past him.

"I'm going," she grumbled.

_No you're not_, Sakumo thought as she walked outside. _San...ni...ichi...Now!_ Mitsuho jumped down from the roof and Taylor looked up and before she could react, he hit a pressure point on her neck and knocked her out.

"I'm sorry, _Imouto_," he said, picking her up and bringing her back inside.

"Set her on the couch, son," Sakumo ordered.

"Of course," he brought her in and laid her on the couch.

"Thank you for stopping her from following Kakashi," Sakumo thanked. "He'll appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Sakumo," Mitsuho nodded. "I'm glad to help. I had to come over anyway to check your health. Have you had an complications lately?"

"No," Sakumo furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"I read in one of my family's books that some people brought back from the dead experience complications many years after they were risen from the dead," he explained.

"Like what?"

"Stroke, heart attack, low/high blood pressure, sleep apnea, death again in some cases. Some even get cancer, but we're not sure if there is a connection..." Mitsuho answered.

"Oh..." Sakumo shook his head. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Mitsuho."

"Of course..." Mitsuho looked down.

"Why don't you stay awhile?" Sakumo suggested, smiling. "I'm making kamo-nanban soup for supper. It takes about two hours."

"Sure, that sounds good," Mitsuho smiled. "But I hope Taylor doesn't get mad at me for doing that."

"Says the boy who got mad at his sister for going above deck after telling her not to and she gets hurt," Sakumo pointed out.

"That was different!" Mitsuho grumbled.

"Sure..." Sakumo rolled his eyes. "I have a younger sibling — well, had...he's dead now — and as we grew older, we'd have our fights. Same with you two. Both of you will have your fights. All siblings do."

Mitsuho sighed, "I don't want to argue with her."

"I didn't want to argue with Jiraiya, but we did. Usually about my son and then Taylor," Sakumo said.

Mitsuho looked out the window at the barely visible yellow-green wheat, not fully grown yet.

"Why do you live out here?" Mitsuho asked.

Sakumo began gathering food to cook and stuff to cook the food in and he turned his head.

"Why, you ask?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Why do I do anything?" Sakumo grumbled. "My father lived here. He grew wheat in that field. It brings in money and I feel it makes him happy."

"Why must you please him?"

"I don't do it just to please him. Firstly, money. Second, I like living here. It's quiet and peaceful, and I like the smell of wheat. It brings a good feeling of nostalgia. I don't know why though...my father wasn't much of a father to me..."

Sakumo sighed.

"No more questions," he said. "I'm too tired for this."

"Okay..." Mitsuho walked into the kitchen. "Do you have something to drink?

"Uhm...yeah. Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge," Sakumo nodded.

Mitsuho walked over to the fridge and opened the door, and the first thing he saw was a juice box. He took that out and stared at it.

"Taylor still drinks these?" he asked.

"Uhh," Sakumo looked over his shoulder to see what it was. "Oh yeah, it's so she keeps her blood sugar up. Sometimes it crashes...It's also so she stops drinking soda," Sakumo explained.

"Oh..."

"She enjoys the apple juice so..." Sakumo shrugged. "I wouldn't suggest taking one."

"Oh." Mitsuho put the juice box back.

"Feel free to take a soda though," Sakumo grinned.

"Yeah..."

He took a soda and opened it, closing the fridge. Then, they fell silent.

.

Taylor awakened nearly two hours later on the couch and she woke with a headache. _Geez,_ she thought. _My head hurts!_ She pressed her fingers against her sinuses. _Crap! Sinus pressure. Oh goddess...I hate that!_

She sat up and held her hand on her collar bone. _Why did I black out anyway?_ She looked around and gasped. _Kuso! I blacked out and I have to follow Daddy! Ugh!_ She jumped to her feet and gathered her things. _Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!__  
_

"Don't bother," came an irritatingly familiar voice.

She turned her head and saw Mitsuho standing behind her.

"Mitsuho?"

"Your father left as fast as he could so you couldn't follow him once you woke up. He might be somewhere near the Wind by now.

"So you're the reason I blacked out. You Vulcan-neck pinched me! Jerk!"

"Your dad told me to do it," Mitsuho said. "He knew you'd try to follow him and get past Sakumo, so he asked me to knock you out."

"But...That's not okay!" she exclaimed. "I could be very useful on that mission, damn it! I've done my research on the group. I know their tactics and what they look like."

"You would get too close to the case. I gave Kakashi your notes and the photos you had of the members," Sakumo explained.

"But I won't get too close," Taylor whined.

"We can't be too sure on that" Sakumo said. "You don't ever know."

Taylor pouted.

"Damn it."

"We did it to protect you," Mitsuho said.

"I don't need protection," Taylor frowned. "I am a jounin!"

"Sometimes, Jounin need protecting," Sakumo reasoned.

Taylor let out a huff of annoyance.

"Fine, whatever," she waved them off.

"Supper is done, sweetheart," Sakumo mentioned.

"Okay..." she sighed and headed into the kitchen and grabbed herself a bowl of kamo-nanban soup.

She glanced out the window and at the sky. The sky was growing dark with clouds, bringing a gloomy feeling to her. She looked back down at the pot and sighed, scooping out the soup. All she wanted was to prove herself to not always get too attached to a case. Like a good shinobi, because she was a good shinobi and she wanted to prove it.

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End file.
